Page 104 - Present Day Wildlife_Float

Marten’s, are any of eight species of weasel-like carnivores of the genus Martes, in the sub-
family Guloninae a member of the family Mustelidae. They are found in Canada and parts of the
United States, Europe, Russia, the Far East,
Taiwan, the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Their size is around; 45.72 to 60.96cm in
length and 1.8 to 5.5 kg in weight. Two oth-
er species, not martins, only near cousins
and much larger than martins, are often pa-
raded as ‘Martens’; the Pecan or Fisher
(Pekania pennani) and the Foul marten, or
European polecat (Mustela putorius).

Martins have slender bodies, with a
round flattish head, a pointed rodent-like
snout and small round eyes with pointed or
rounded ears. All have bushy tails, short
legs, with large paws brandishing five re-
tractable claws. Their fur coats are unique
to each animal, and while some can be soft
and silky others can be coarse and slightly
Genus Martes rough to the touch. The colour of their fur
varies from light buffs to dark browns or
blacks. Many have throat patches; some are
bright or faded orange while others bright or creamy white.

Trees are the natural habitat of the Martins. They spend
most, if not all, of their lives climbing and scampering around in
trees. They can climb and navigate their way around trees at in-
credible speeds, a skill they use, to great effect, when fleeing from
predators. They are found in most coniferous, deciduous forests
and woodland regions across the Northern hemisphere. Many of
the species like the yellow-throated marten and Nilgiri marten
are completely arboreal; they rarely leave the trees. The Sable, on
the other hand, lives and sleeps in burrows close to the trees and
the beech marten prefers to seek out naturally occurring fissures,
clefts in rocks, and spaces between stones to live and sleep.
Weather also plays a part in their choice of habitat. Although, ex-
cellent swimmers, martens hate getting wet, so they tend to
avoid areas prone to heavy rain downpours and places subject to
heavy snow drifts. Martens are not sociable animals and live soli-
tary lives meeting only for mating. They are territorial, but their
territories overlap with other males and females. However, their
territories, both the male and females, are passed on to successive
generations, who will use the same trails within the territory long
after the founder has passed on.

Martens are omnivores, but what each species eats will be
dependent on their location. In general, they eat a variety of small
mammals, fish, birds, fruit, and seeds. They will also scavenge
carcasses and raid nests for eggs and birds. Although relatively
small martens are very aggressive predators and are known to at-
tack and kill larger prey such as large hares and marmots. They
themselves are preyed on by many animals such as lynxes,
wolves, foxes, eagles, goshawks, owls and above all man, who
traps the marten in their thousands, for the very profitable and
lucrative world wide fur trade.