'Land Beaver' Hitchhikes 600+ Miles From Colorado To Arizona

A rodent known as a marmot hitchhiked for hundreds of miles from rural Colorado to Glendale, Arizona, much to the surprise of wildlife scientists.

The yellow-bellied marmot was found in late June after someone called the Arizona Game and Fish Department to report a strange looking "land beaver" running around a Glendale parking lot and hopping into cars, according to the Crested Butte News.

Marmots are invasive in Arizona so a biologist was sent to trap the critter, which had an ear tag.

Information on the ear tag told biologists that their visitor is a female marmot named Fork and from Gothic, Colorado, which is more than 600 miles away from Glendale.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department isn't exactly sure how Fork traveled so far, KTAR reported.

“Marmots sometimes climb under cars, which can lead to an unexpected trip, most of which are fatal. This is the first marmot we know of to travel beyond Colorado. Fork must have survived at least a 10-hour ride," said biologist Daniel T. Blumstein.

Biologists were also impressed that Fork survived Arizona's record breaking heat.

Fork couldn't stay in Glendale so the the Arizona Game and Fish Department worked with the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic to get her back home.

On June 29, Fork was flown back to Colorado. She was released in the forests of Gothic, where the critter has a brother named "Spoon."