Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
the ground—where, after all, the majority of its larder is found—the marten can be considered semiar-
boreal.
No doubt the sight of martens zipping through the treetops in pursuit of red squirrels has given rise to
the idea that they subsist mainly on a diet of squirrels. The marten, however, like the fisher, eats what it
can readily catch or find. Mice, voles, and chipmunks make up much of the marten's diet, but birds and
birds' eggs, hares, grouse, large insects, fruit, nuts, and carrion are all fare for this versatile predator.
With its yellowish-brown fur, a muzzle longer and more pointed than the fisher's, and larger, more
pointed ears, the marten's face looks almost fox-like. And like the weasel, the marten can have its en-
gaging side, too.
My good friend Tim Jones saw this facet of marten personality in an encounter in Maine some years
ago. He had shot a buck about a mile from his car. After field-dressing the deer, he carried his pack,
rifle, and heavy jacket out to his car. When he returned and began to drag the deer toward the car, a pair
of martens suddenly emerged from inside the carcass.
Sometimes coming within a foot of Tim, the pair alternately tugged at the deer and chirred and
chittered anxiously in high-pitched voices not unlike that of a red squirrel. According to Tim, their
whole demeanor clearly said, “Chitterchitter! My deer! My deer!” The pair persisted and followed for
some distance before finally turning back to content themselves with the leavings.
When he returned a second time for the deer's heart and liver, the martens were even more perturbed.
In high dudgeon, they squeaked, chirred, and chittered their alarm and displeasure at seeing their food
supply further diminished: “Chirr, chirr, chitter, chitter! My gut pile! My gut pile!” Tim was utterly
charmed and captivated by the whole episode.
Our North American marten is commonly called the pine marten, but this is a misnomer. The true
pine marten
(Martes martes)
is native to Europe. As with other New World creatures, European settlers
evidently named our marten after a similar European relative with which they were familiar.
Martens are very much creatures of coniferous forests, or of mixed forests with a strong coniferous
component. It's not surprising, therefore, that their range is primarily in Canada and Alaska. In the Un-
ited States, they're found only in northern New England, the northern tip of the Great Lakes states, the
Rocky Mountains, and a strip down the Pacific coast.
Like fishers, martens usually den in tree cavities, though a hollow log will also serve. In typical
weasel fashion, they reap the benefits of delayed implantation. Usually three or four kits are born in
April or May; though tiny and premature, they're covered with fine, yellowish fur.
A close relative of the famed sable
(Martes zibellina)
of northern Europe and Asia, the marten is
a much-prized furbearer. Eliminated from some portions of its former range by the land clearing and
unregulated trapping of bygone years, this interesting weasel cousin is now being restored to its old
haunts.
