Marmots are members of the genus Marmota, in the rodent family of squirrels. Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Sierra Nevadas in the United States or the European Alps. Marmots typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. Interestingly, marmots, rather than rats, were the primary carriers of the Bubonic plague during several historic outbreaks, but the rats got the blame.