Alpine Marmot

One of the highlights of a visit to Zermatt is to see an Alpine Marmot. They are usually in the fields away from the main tracks but on this occasion, I rounded a corner to see this animal sitting on a rock in the morning sunshine. Fortunately it stayed long enough for me to take this photograph and to point it out to several other walkers. It soon disappeared from view and was not seen again. The Marmots have a plaintive whistle and can be heard calling across the valleys.