Daily aboveground activity of wild black-capped marmots of Yakutia (Marmota camtschatica bungei) was recorded under ‘polar day’ conditions at 71°56’ N and 127°19’ E (north of the Polar Circle). From the beginning of May until the end of August, the sun was permanently above or close to the horizon. However under this condition of continuous lighting, the aboveground activity of these arctic hibernating mammals was periodic. Onset and end of activity showed marked changes throughout the seasons. Activity time increased strongly from hibernation emergence until the end of July and then decreased slowly until onset of hibernation. Below daily mean temperatures of 5 °C, activity started when the sun was 35° above the horizon, and ended when it dropped below 28°. When daily mean temperatures were above 5 °C, activity onset was synchronised with a solar altitude around 17–18° and activity ended at 10°. Activity onset was more precise relative to the solar altitude than the end of activity. This may be explained by late feeding bouts, following a midday thermal stress. In absence of rapid natural light-dark (LD) transitions that occur at civil twilight, our results suggest that the activity pattern of black-capped marmots may be synchronised by the light cycle through the solar altitude and ambient temperature.