The Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, is home to over 1,372,000 people – it also home to a few dozen marmots. The furry rodent likes living in grassy areas and is nicknamed the ‘excavator’ by locals because, it digs, creates many tunnels and burrows beneath the ground. 

The Ulaanbaatar City Environmental Protection Department has been removing the marmots from resident areas. So far, the first 15 marmots have been captured and released into the countryside. The numbers of the small animal have decreased due to urbanisation; nevertheless, as we reported recently, the current Ulaanbaatar Administration is launching a programme to extend the ‘green areas’ in around the city – ideally, without marmots.