![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/yellow-bellied-marmot-2943-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-bellied-marmot-2943-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThe youngest and smallest Yellow-bellied Marmots I’ve seen out of their den.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Five days ago I put myself and my new camera to the test while photographing a family of four Yellow-bellied Marmot pups and one adult in northern Utah. When there was a single pup in my viewfinder the animal\/eye detection capabilities of the R5 were mostly a joy to work with but when I had more than one marmot and multiple eyes to deal with things got more complicated. I’d rather choose which eye to focus on rather than let the camera do it for me.<\/p>\n I quickly learned that in that situation I was better off to switch over to having a single autofocus point active without using animal\/eye detection.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n There were at least four small and very young pups popping up and then disappearing in various places amongst the rocks so I had the distinct impression I was playing a photographic version of Whack-a-mole. Yellow-bellied Marmot dens typically have a main entrance and multiple concealed entrances so I never knew where or when one of the pups would make an appearance. It was exciting, fun and exasperating at the same time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I thought this pup with the lighter-colored face was the cutest one of the bunch. But of course it was also the most shy so I got fewer photos of this one than the others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The adult, presumably the female parent, kept her distance from the pups but she also kept a very close eye on them. I had the impression that she was trying to allow them as much freedom to explore as possible without being intrusive in their activities.<\/p>\n At one point she apparently saw some potential danger, perhaps a raptor flying overhead, so she let out a shrill whistle which caused all of the pups to disappear for a short while. But it didn’t take long for them to reappear so my Whack-a-mole game continued.<\/p>\n Yellow-bellied Marmots spend eight months of the year hibernating and even when they aren’t hibernating they spend most of their time in the den so I make the best use I can of every opportunity to photograph them. Especially when young pups are involved.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The youngest and smallest Yellow-bellied Marmots I’ve seen out of their den.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/yellow-bellied-marmot-2975-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-bellied-marmot-2975-ron-dudley\\"")
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