I spent some time at Sequoia National Park in late September to photograph the Giant Sequoia trees. I hiked many trails in the Giant Forest, which is one of the most remarkable groves in the Sequoia National Park. It’s a truly breathtaking experience to stand in the shadow of these giant trees which can reach up to 295 feet (90 meter) in height. Every animal seems so tiny among the huge trunks of the sequoias, especially the ground-squirrels, like this Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris). This marmot species which is also known as rock chuck lives in the western part of North America. Its name (rock chuck) comes from its preferred habitat, where the marmots usually dig burrows under rocks. However, there are many rocks in the Giant Forest, this marmot made its burrow under the giant sequoia tree and uses the trunk of the tree as an observation post.

I walked through the woods in the Giant Forest, when I noticed the rodent as sunbathing on the giant trunk. I tried to carefully approach the marmot and it seemed to be very friendly and didn’t care about me, so I was able to reach the desired angle and I took this photo.

Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 70-200mm F/4 lens, handheld