Tatra National Park Management personnel conducted the reintroduction of the alpine marmot to the Belianske Tatras between 2008 and 2010 following the last recorded sighting of the marmot in this location in 2006.

The marmots were moved from a healthy and populous colony in the Western Tatras and specifically from Žiarska dolina valley, Roháče (Smutná dolina valley) and from Bystrá dolina valley to two locations in the Belianske Tatras, below Široké sedlo saddle and the valley beneath Nový peak in the Tatras. A total of 18 individuals were reintroduced. Four reproductive pairs formed from the individuals at the new location, which resulted in an increase of 24 individuals over three years. Samples were collected from the trapped individuals for genetic analysis to confirm a separate subspecies of Tatra marmots. The samples were processed by the lab at Technical University in Zvolen. The results confirmed that our marmot is a separate subspecies of the alpine marmot. The Tatra marmot subspecies was previously described by Kratochvil (1961) based on the results of skull morphology. The whistling of the marmots can once again be heard in the Belianske Tatras thanks to this unique and demanding activity conducted by Tatra National Park Management.

Vypúšťanie svišťa na novej lokalite v Belianskych Tatrách