Search underway for marmot on the loose in SF

SAN FRANCISCO -- A marmot is on the loose in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, a wildlife rescue group said Tuesday.

The marmot was spotted hiding under a deck at a home near 25th and Rhode Island streets today, according to Wildlife Emergency Services president Rebecca Dmytryk.

A wildlife specialist from the organization, based in Moss Landing, is trying to capture the marmot to return it to its native habitat in the Sierra Nevada region, Dmytryk said.

The organization is asking for the public's help to figure out how the critter got to San Francisco and where it originated.

Anyone who lives within a half-mile of the intersection who may have visited a high elevation area like the Sierras in the past three weeks is asked to email the group at rescuewildlifeservices.org or call (866) WILD-911, ext. 4.

Last June a marmot was spotted in the city's Bernal Heights neighborhood and eluded capture until early August when it was found and captured at a school in Noe Valley.

The yellow-bellied marmot was returned to the Sierras, but not before the infamous critter became known as the "Bernal Marmot" with its own social media pages.