An amusing video shot in the wild has captured the playful antics of a group of rowdy bobak marmots who engaged in a scuffle on the grasslands of northwest China's Qinghai Province.
The footage, released on Thursday, showed two marmots "wrestling" on the alpine steppe in the province's picturesque Haiyan County.
The video begins with two of the chubby but endearing rodents seemingly having some form of disagreement, with the pair seen standing fully upright, their tiny paws clenched, poised for a fight.
However, a third soon joins the fray after crawling slowly towards the battlefield, and despite initially trying to act as a mediator for the dispute, things soon take a turn for the worse. As the newcomer arrives on the scene, one of the original culprits takes exception, and suddenly a full-on scrap breaks out.
The two tussle away fiercely, up on their hind legs and with their arms locked, appearing at times to almost be engaged in some form of tango dance as their brawl furiously continued.
The other marmot, who may have started the whole thing, watches on from the sidelines before quietly scuttling off from the arena.
Finally, the fierce confrontation ends as one of the sparring opponents loses its footing and rolls down the gentle slope on the hillside.
The bobak marmot, also known as the steppe marmot, is a social animal that inhabits grasslands and mountains. This species is deemed an important part of the plateau ecosystem.
Haiyan County is located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai Lake Basin and sits at the southwest foot of an important branch of the eastern section of the Qilian Mountains, making it home to wide range of wildlife.
Battling bobak marmots caught engaging in "wrestling match" in the wild
