[AR] This is its Polish name. It is called _switsch_ from the cry of
the animal.
The name of the _Strasburgh marmot_ has been affixed to the hamster,
and that of the _Poland marmot_ to the bobak (_fig. 171._). But it
is as certain, that the hamster is not a marmot, as it is probable
the bobak is one; for he only differs from the marmot of the Alps by
the colour of his hair, which instead of being brown is rather a pale
yellow: he has also a thumb, or claw, to the fore-feet, while the
marmot has only four toes and no thumb; but in every other respect
they perfectly resemble, which makes us presume they do not form two
distinct species. It is the same with respect to the monax, or Canadian
marmot, which some travellers have termed the _whistler_: he only seems
to differ from the marmot by the tail, which is longer and thicker of
hair. Therefore the Canadian monax, the Poland bobak, and the Alpine
marmot, appear to be all the same animal, which from the influence of
different climates have undergone those alterations we have before
particularized. As this species prefers the coldest and highest
mountains, and inhabits Poland, Russia, and other parts of the north
of Europe, no wonder it is found in Canada, where it is only somewhat
less, a circumstance not particular to it alone; for all animals common
to both continents are smaller in the new than in the old.
The Siberian animal, called by the Russians _jevraschka_, is a kind
of marmot, still less than the Canadian monax, the head of which is
round, and the snout snubbed. It has no external ears, nor can the
auditory passages be seen without turning back the hair. The length
of the body, including the head, is not above a foot; the tail, which
is scarcely three inches long, is nearly round towards the body, then
flat, and truncated towards as extremity. The body is thick, the hair
yellow, mixed with grey, and blackish towards the end of the tail. The
legs are short, but those before are somewhat longer than those behind.
The hind feet have five toes, with five black claws, a little crooked:
the fore feet have but four. When these animals are irritated, or
when they are surprised, they bite violently, and make a shrill noise
like the marmot. They sit upon their hind legs to feed, and carry the
food to their mouths with their fore paws. They copulate in spring,
and bring forth in summer; commonly five or six at a time. They dig
burrows for their winter residence, and the females suckle their young
at the bottom of their habitations. Though these animals bear a great
resemblance to the marmots, they nevertheless seem to be a different
species, for the Poland or Alpine species of marmot are found in the
same parts of Siberia, which the inhabitants call _suroks_, and these
two species have never been observed to mix together, nor produce an
intermediate race.