Chinese medicine snow pig meat is the meat of Himalayan marmots, gray marmots, steppe marmots, and long-tailed marmots, which are all members of the squirrel family. Although they are all marmots, their animal morphology and distribution environments are quite different.
Image of snow pig meat
1. Himalayan Marmot
A large ground-dwelling squirrel. It has a body length of 46-58cm and weighs 3-6kg. It has a short and thick neck, short and round ears, and a flat and short tail that is about 13cm long and does not exceed twice the length of the hind limb.
It has sturdy limbs, with the thumb of the forelimb degenerated and small claws, and the other four toes have long and curved claws, with shorter claws on the hind limb. The side of the snout has light brown hair and black whiskers. The back of the nose has black or dark brown spots.
There is a noticeable black stripe on the upper edge of the eye socket. The top of the head is a mixture of black and brown, and the sides to the base of the ears are light yellow. The back is a mixture of brown and irregular black stripes, with the middle part of the fur pale white and the tip black.
The throat, chest, abdomen, and limbs are all light yellow, and the bottom fur is all dark gray. The buttocks are dark brownish-yellow. The tail fur is similar to the body color, except for the black tip. The color of juveniles is lighter than that of adults.
It inhabits high-altitude alpine meadows at an altitude of 2800-5000m. It lives in burrows and forms groups. It is active during the day and hibernates. Its main food is herbaceous plants and the tender branches and leaves of shrubs. It is distributed in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, and other places.
2. Gray Marmot
It is similar in size and morphology to the Himalayan marmot, but the ventral surface has a darker color, ranging from dark brownish-yellow to grayish-brown. It has a body length of 46-54cm and weighs 4-6kg. It has short and small ears and short and thick claws.
The tail is relatively short, about 13-15cm long, less than one-third of the body length. The back of the body is light yellow or sandy yellow, mixed with black or brownish-black. The snout, cheeks, and sub-ears are dark brown. The ears are sandy yellow. The tail is similar in color to the body, but the tip of the tail is dark brownish.
It inhabits grasslands and meadows at an altitude of 2500-3500m. It prefers humidity. It lives in burrows. The burrow has a mound called a marmot hill. It feeds on plants. It is only distributed in the northern part of Xinjiang.
Image of snow pig meat
3. Steppe Marmot
It has a small body size, with a length of about 36-49cm and a weight of 3-4kg. The tail is 11-12cm long, about twice the length of the hind limb. The back of the body is light brown or light rust color, mixed with light white, without any black or brownish-black.
The forehead and top of the head are pure brown. The ears are light orange-yellow. The ventral surface is brown, and the base of the hair is dark brown. The tail is dark brown, with a rust-brown tip.
It inhabits the edge area where geothermal rises and falls, grasslands intersect with deserts. It lives in groups. The burrows are mostly built on high ground or slopes, with mounds outside the burrow. It feeds on grass roots and seeds. It is distributed in eastern Inner Mongolia and northern Xinjiang.
4. Long-tailed Marmot
It is a large marmot. It has a body length of 47-50cm and weighs 4-5kg. The tail is relatively long, 18.5-22cm long, significantly longer than twice the length of the hind limb. The ears are very small and barely visible.
It has long and thick fur. The whole body is orange-yellow or reddish-yellow, with the fur ends often dyed with dark brown. The ventral color is similar to the dorsal color, but the brown color is darker, and there is no obvious boundary between the back and abdomen. The tip of the tail is black or reddish-brown.
This species is one of the representative species in the sub-alpine grassland zone. It inhabits alpine meadows and dense grassland areas. It lives in burrows and also likes to live in groups. There are yellow marmot hills near the burrow entrance. Its main food is sedges and grasses. It is distributed in the western and southern parts of Xinjiang.
