In which forests does the marten live? What does a marten look like and where does this animal live?

What does the common marten that lives in our forests and mountains look like? If someone asks such a question, then usually a description can be made using the appearance of a familiar object as a basis. Everyone has seen a bear, at least in a zoo or in a picture. So, make the bear ten times smaller, make his body long, slender and light. Don’t forget to stretch out and lighten the muzzle. Yes, the paws also need to be made small, light, but definitely with claws. This will make a marten.

Martens are carnivorous mammals from the weasel family

Martens are carnivorous mammals from the mustelidae family. Their closest relatives, besides several species of martens themselves, are:

• sable;
• mink;
• ermine;
• weasel;
• Solonga;
• speakers;
• ferret;
• dressing;
• harza;
• pecan;
• wolverine;
• badger;
• skunk;
• otter;
• sea ​​otter

Thus, the mustelid family includes a very small weasel and a huge, more bear-like wolverine. However, all mustelids are dexterous, fast and strong predators.

Animals of this species are of average height, in the sense that their parameters are in the middle between the giant wolverine and the dwarf weasel. The marten is a digitigrade, predatory animal with short five-fingered paws. The toes are freely spaced and armed with sharp claws, which allows the animal to easily and quickly climb trees. The marten has a sharp muzzle with short ears divided into 2 parts. Her body is long, slender, streamlined, well adapted for fast movement

through trees and for sharp jumps over long distances.

The tail is relatively long, reaching half the length of the body. It differs from the squirrel tail in the absence of a fan, which increases the streamlining of the body and the speed of movement through trees, as well as in the mountains over stones and rocks.

Only 2 species of martens live on the territory of Russia - forest and stone. The predominant species is the pine marten.

Like many members of this family, the pine marten has an oblong body with relatively short legs and hair on the feet. The length of the animal is about 50 cm, the length of the tail does not exceed 28 cm, and it weighs on average about 1.5 kg. Males are usually a third heavier than females.

The marten is a digitigrade, predatory animal with short five-toed paws

Forest marten (video)

Food preferences of martens

To say that martens are predators is like saying nothing. Formally, predators include all animals that themselves kill other animals and immediately eat them. However, can the sundew plant be called a predator? Of course, it is possible, she kills animals herself and eats them herself. But is the sparrow a predator? Yes, this is also a predator terrifying for all sorts of bugs.

Marten is predatory animal without any reservations. She eats everything that runs, swims, flies, jumps, crawls. Its victims are:

• all mouse-like;
• any bird that did not have time to dodge claws and teeth;
• proteins;
• chipmunks;
• other mustelids, which are inferior in strength and size;
• all invertebrate animals.

The marten is a predatory animal without any reservations

The animal can even eat the cubs of a fox, wolf, badger, or wild boar if their parents are away somewhere. However, the main food of martens are rodents and birds.

Firstly, the bodies of these animals are large enough to satiate the marten at least temporarily. Secondly, there are enough of them to maintain the optimal number of these medium-sized predators.

Gallery: animal marten (25 photos)

Lifestyle and biotope

Pine martens fully live up to their name. Everything about them is adapted to life in trees. Stone martens also got their name because of their lifestyle and their association with certain biotopes. They can live perfectly among trees, but they feel just as good in open mountain spaces among rocks and stones.

And yet, mustelids are originally forest dwellers. All of them evolutionary changes associated with changes in biotopes, in which the environment-forming role of trees gradually became less and less significant. The only exception to this rule is the wolverine, which is too large to jump along branches and easily fly from tree to tree.

All martens can climb and jump well in trees, easily covering a distance of up to 4 m in a jump. Moving in the complex structure of a tree, they are able to turn their feet 180°. This type of plasticity is characteristic of all poison dart frogs.

If we talk about the composition of the forest where martens prefer to settle, then these are predominantly mixed coniferous-deciduous forests. This location is due to the fact that here every small animal can find enough food for itself. In such forests, mice, squirrels, and chipmunks can feed themselves on:

• nuts of coniferous plants;
• mushrooms;
• grass;
• root vegetables;
• acorns and fruits deciduous trees;
• invertebrate animals.

A good food source for the animals is the so-called upland game, that is, large birds that feed on pine needles, grains and grass. Various partridges, hazel grouse and even wood grouse are quite accessible for food to such a strong and resourceful predator as the marten.

The diet of the stone marten is somewhat different from that of the forest marten. However, the differences are not radical. Among the mountain screes, mountain hares - pikas - can become food. In steppe areas, the food supply can be replenished by gophers. As for the rest, the basis of nutrition consists of the same mice and birds.

Martens also live in deciduous forests, especially in oak forests, since acorns and the fruits of other deciduous trees attract squirrels, mice and birds.

However, the most suitable biotopes for martens are taiga and mixed forests. Here she finds not only food in abundance, but also secluded places for breeding.

Marten hunting squirrel (video)

Shelters and territories

All martens prefer to live in hollows. In the forest, hollow, but still quite alive and strong trees are always in great short supply. In addition to martens, squirrels, chipmunks, and birds (woodpeckers, pikas, nuthatches, tits, etc.) claim such hollows. Once upon a time, Far Eastern people lived and wintered in them. white-breasted bears. Now that large trees have become an extremely rare occurrence, these bears are sometimes forced to spend the winter simply in a hole under a bush, which is not always compatible with the harsh Far Eastern winters.

Where trees themselves become scarce, martens already live in burrows among stones. Hence the name of the species - stone marten. In addition to the space between stones, this marten can use abandoned or reclaimed nests of large birds.

This animal can divide all shelters into places where you can sleep and wait out the bad weather, and places where you can create a lair. Sometimes these concepts coincide, but the conditions for the den must be special.

Pine martens are animals with pronounced territorial behavior. In order to retain the plot, it must be fenced. Martens, like all mammals, do this with the help of smells. The marker is odorous substances secreted by the anal gland. The formation of scent boundaries is necessary, first of all, in order to protect themselves from same-sex individuals. The territories of males and females may overlap.

Typically, males have a larger home range than females. The size of the plots depends on the ability of the individual not only to apply scent marks along the periphery of the plot, but also to prove its right to this territory. A large individual can conquer a large area.

There are differences in plot size and seasons. In winter, the territories of individual individuals may be half as large as in summer. A small winter area is easier to defend in conditions of deep snow and less abundance of food.

Reproduction and fertility

Martens usually mate in mid-summer, but the first cub does not appear until April of the following year. This is not due to a long period of pregnancy, but to a phenomenon such as sperm conservation. After fertilization, the development of the embryo is delayed until favorable times. For most mammals, these times are spring and early summer. Over the summer and autumn months, the cub will be able to grow enough to survive the winter safely, and the next summer begin to select a mate for procreation.

On average, no more than 3 babies are born at a time. Each cub is no more than 10 cm in length. Marten children stay in the nest for about 2 months. Then they begin to go beyond its borders and explore the surrounding area.

After 4 months of home education, that is, around September, marten children become completely independent. However, this does not prevent them from accompanying their mother until next spring. By the next summer, young martens become fully sexually mature, but they usually breed in the third year of life.

These animals live in captivity for about 16 years. IN wildlife aging of the body does not allow them to safely obtain food and defend themselves from other predators, so their lifespan is estimated at no more than ten years.

Marten and man: facets of interaction

Relationships between humans and animals can be very different. Predators can pose a direct threat to human life or farm animals. In this regard, martens somewhere in the Moscow region try to stay away from settlements.

They do not pose any danger to human health and life, except in a situation where the person himself forces the poor animal to defend itself and protect its offspring.

Of course, there is a possibility that during the winter lack of food, the animal will climb into the chicken coop and take the chicken to its dense forest. However, this happens extremely rarely.

It is believed that the stone marten attacks chicken coops more often than its forest relative. This may be due to the fact that in the habitats of this species the number of mice and other small animals and birds is much lower than in the mixed forests of Eurasia.

There is another explanation for the arrival of martens to places where a person lives himself, stores his supplies and keeps pets. This is the destruction of the natural habitat of these animals. There are fewer and fewer forests, and more and more houses. In this case, it is the area that suffers the most mixed forest , where the marten has so far found food and shelter in sufficient quantities. Deforestation and development, of course, greatly destroy natural environment

marten habitats However, the pyrogenic factor can be considered the most destructive.

Crown fires destroy trees completely, forming grass or grass-shrub thickets in place of the forest. Pine martens cannot live in such conditions. The surviving animals, if they have nowhere to migrate, try to feed, reproduce and winter in the ashes. As a result, they are forced to visit people's homes, which usually ends badly for them as well.

If fires are low (grass, litter, shrubs, undergrowth burn) and frequent, trees suffer pyrotrauma. After several years of such fire exposure, the tree may burn out and fall. So frequent ground fires lead to the same result as high fires. Only the process happens more slowly. For martens and other arboreal animals, the result is the same - death from lack of food, migration to forests that have not yet burned, and raids on rich human bins.

The conclusion is simple - do not destroy the marten’s biotope and it will avoid your homes. This animal loves to live in deep forest thickets, where there is something to feed and a place to hide. Leave him such thickets and he will not be interested in your farming.

Attention, TODAY only! Titles: yellowthroat, European.

pine marten: Palaearctic distribution - geographical range extends from Western Siberia across Russia and Europe to Scotland and Ireland, and from the northern limit of the tall trees coniferous forests(in the north) to the Mediterranean and the Caucasus (in the south).
It is also found on many Mediterranean islands, including Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and Balearic Islands(Mallorca and Menorca).

Description: The body of the pine marten is long, slender and flexible, covered with long fluffy fur.
The muzzle is small, elongated, triangular in shape, the jaws are strong. The ears are large, triangular, rounded at the top. Each paw has five toes with strong, curved, semi-retractable claws. The soles become overgrown with fur in winter. The tail is long, reaching half of the body.
Males are 12-30% larger than females. The female has two pairs of mammary glands. The teeth are sharp.
The marten's summer fur is dull and consists of short hair and sparse undercoat. Molting in adolescents and adults begins in the spring, winter fur begins to grow in August-September.

Color: There is a bright teardrop-shaped light yellow spot on the throat and lower neck. Winter fur is from light brownish-yellow to dark brown. The color of the sides is lighter than the back and belly. The undercoat is light gray with a brownish or yellowish tint. The tip of the tail and paws are dark. The head is the same shade as the body. The edges of the ears have a light outline.

Size: body length 33-56 cm, tail 17-28 cm, height at withers 15 cm.

Weight: 0.5-2.4 kg.

Lifespan: in nature 3-4 (maximum 11 years), in captivity 10-18 years.

Puppies, while in their mother's nest, communicate with her by chirping.

Habitat: the marten is closely associated with the forest, prefers dense spruce, fir, oak, deciduous, mixed and tall mature forests, littered with dead wood and with hollow trees. It comes out into open areas only when hunting. Avoids rocky areas and stone placers.

Enemies: red fox, wolves, goshawk, golden eagle, eagle owl, lynx.
It escapes from predators (except birds) in trees. Often large predators destroy pine martens not for food, but to eliminate a potential food competitor.

Food: omnivorous, diet depends on the season and the abundance of food - small rodents ( arable voles, mice, red squirrels, dormice, hares, pikas), birds and their eggs (hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse, partridges, nuthatches, woodpeckers, tits), fish, insects and their larvae (larvae of wild bees and their honey, caterpillars ), amphibians (frogs and their eggs), reptiles, hedgehogs and shrews, snails, berries and fruits (blueberries, raspberries, pears, apples, rowan berries, cherries, rose hips, nuts) and carrion.
In summer, the share of berries and fruits can reach up to 30% of the total diet.
The pine marten prepares part of its food for the winter, hiding it in tree hollows.
It kills prey with a bite to the back of the head.

Behavior: active nocturnal predator(53-59% of the time the marten is active in the dark and 14-19% during the day), foraging for food on the ground and trees. During the day it sleeps in a den, which it makes in tree hollows (at a height of 2-5 m), empty squirrel or bird nests, in crevices among stones, and windbreaks. During the night (in search of food) it can travel 10 km from the den. In severe frosts, it remains in the nest, feeding on reserves.
It does not have permanent nests, but wanders around individual areas in search of prey. Lives in one area for many years in a row, only occasionally wandering after squirrels.
The pine marten is curious and playful. The sense of smell, vision and hearing are well developed. It runs in jumps, which is why it leaves paired paw prints (the hind paws are placed on the front paw prints). It climbs well (on tree trunks and branches) and jumps (from branch to branch at distances of up to 4 m, from great heights onto snow). Can move along treetops. When climbing, it can twist its feet 180". Swims reluctantly and in extreme cases.
Males and females have two pairs of special scent glands (prianal and abdominal).

Social structure: The pine marten leads a solitary lifestyle; pairs form only during the breeding season. The animals mark the boundaries of their territory with secretions from odorous glands and urine.
Outside the breeding season, the meeting of two males usually occurs without conflict.
The home range of a male (10-25 km2) often intersects with the home ranges of several females (5-15 km2).

Reproduction: from June to July, the female has several heats, which last 1-4 days, the interval between them is 6-17 days. Mating lasts 30-50 minutes.
The female gives birth to cubs once a year. For childbirth, the female chooses a hollow in an old tree. In case of danger, she moves the cubs to another place or can eat the entire litter.
During the period of feeding their cubs, females hunt both at night and during the day.

Breeding season/period: June July. The false rut is observed in February-March.

Puberty: females and males mature at 14 months. age, but usually have offspring at 2-3 years.

Pregnancy: pregnancy with a latent stage of development is 236-275 days, the pregnancy itself accounts for 27-28 days.

Offspring: the female gives birth to 2-7 blind, deaf and toothless puppies, weighing about 30 grams, 10 cm long. Newborns are already covered with sparse short fur. The eyes open at 34-38 days of life.
Lactation lasts 6-8 weeks, by the end of this age the puppies weigh 68 grams. Young martens switch to solid food at 36-45 days of age, when their teeth erupt.
They begin to leave the nest at 1.5 months. Puppies try to actively climb and jump at 2-2.5 months of age.
The young stay with their mother for another month, and then they leave the nest in search of their own site. Some of the cubs remain with their mother in the den until next spring.

Population/Conservation Status: Currently there are about 200,000 individuals.
The pine marten can interbreed with the sable; such sterile hybrids are called kindus.

Nine subspecies of pine marten are recognized: Martes martes martes(large sizes), Martes m. borealis, M. m. latinorum, Caucasian pine marten ( M. m. lorenzi), Menorquin marten ( M. m. minoricensis), M. m. notialis, Central Russian pine marten ( M. m. ruthena), Pechora pine marten ( M. m. sabaneevi), Ural pine marten ( M. m. uralensis).

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In my own way appearance The marten resembles a cat in many ways. She has beautiful, fluffy fur, a flexible and graceful body. Martens also have a fluffy tail, but their muzzles are short and quite wide. The animal is quite small. As a rule, its length is no more than 60 centimeters.

IN Russian forests There are two types of martens - pine and stone martens. Externally, both types are very similar to each other. The difference can only be seen in the undercoat of the stone marten. The fact is that on the back and sides the undercoat of such an animal is lighter. And stone martens live mainly in rocky areas.

Animals are quite unpretentious in nutrition. Their diet primarily depends on the time of year. They feed on rodents, frogs, insects, birds, lizards, rats and mice. Martens do not disdain poultry either. In summer and early autumn, the animal actively feeds on plant foods - various berries, nuts and trees.

Since the animal is very beautiful, its fur is considered very valuable in the fashion world. In addition, they often cause harm to households, destroying birds, rabbits, and agricultural crops. It is not surprising that the animals are actively hunted. Although unofficial hunting of martens is prohibited and strictly controlled. There is a fairly serious fine for illegal hunting. Most often, martens are hunted using traps, although there are many different ways. They often take a dog with them on a hunt; it helps track the animal.

Photo gallery - a beautiful marten in the wild.

Video about martens. Watch the movie " Far Eastern marten Kharza" - two episodes. Minimum words. You will spend an amazing hour and a half alone with nature.

And now you can be transported to the shores of Foggy Albion and watch the video “ Pine marten. Spirit of the Forests.»

And one more video - “Hunting for marten”.

AND latest video- setting a trap for a marten

A predatory mammal with long, valuable fur from the mustelidae family and the marten genus is called the pine marten. In another way, it is also called the wallflower. Pine marten oblong and graceful.

Her valuable and beautiful fluffy tail has dimensions that are half the length of her body. The tail not only serves as an ornament to this animal, but with its help the marten manages to maintain balance when jumping and while climbing trees.

Its four short legs are characterized by the fact that with the arrival of winter cold, their feet are covered with hair, which helps the animal to easily move through snowdrifts and ice. These four paws have five toes, with curved claws.

They can retract halfway. The marten's muzzle is wide and elongated. The animal has a powerful jaw and mega sharp teeth. The marten's ears are triangular and relatively large in relation to the muzzle. They are rounded at the top and have a yellow edging.

The nose is sharp and black. The eyes are dark and at night their color becomes copper-red. Pine marten in the photo leaves only positive impressions. In appearance, this is a gentle and harmless creature with an innocent look. The beautiful color and quality of the marten's fur is striking.

It ranges from light chestnut with yellow to brown. In the area of ​​the back, head and legs, the fur is always darker than in the area of ​​the belly and sides. The tip of the animal's tail is almost always black.

Distinctive feature Martens differ from all other mustelid breeds in having yellow or orange coat color in the neck area, which extends beyond the front legs. This is where the second name of the marten came from - yellowthroat.

The parameters of the predator are similar to those of a large one. Body length 34-57 cm. Tail length 17-29 cm. Females are usually 30% smaller than males.

Features and habitat of the pine marten

All forest zone Eurasia is densely populated by representatives of this species. Forest martens live over a large area. They are found in places ranging from Great Britain to Western Europe, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean islands, Corsica, Sicily, Sardinia, Iran and Asia Minor.

The animal prefers the nature of mixed and deciduous forests, less often coniferous ones. Rarely, martens sometimes settle high in mountain ranges, but only in places where there are trees.

The animal prefers places with trees with hollows. It can go out into open areas solely to hunt. Rocky landscapes are not a suitable place for martens; they avoid them.

The wallflower does not have a stable abode. She finds refuge in trees at an elevation of 6 meters, in hollows, abandoned nests, crevices and windbreaks. In such places the animal stops for a day's rest.

With the arrival of twilight, the predator begins the hunt, and after it looks for shelter in another place. But with the onset of severe frosts, its position in life may change somewhat, the marten for a long time sits in a shelter, eating pre-stocked provisions. The pine marten tries to settle away from people.

Pictures with pine marten They make you look at it with tenderness and some kind of irresistible desire to take the animal in your hands and stroke it. The more hunters valuable fur these animals and the less forested area with favorable conditions for the habitat of martens, the more difficult it becomes for them to live and reproduce. Pine marten in Russia is still considered important commercial species because of the value of her fur.

Character and lifestyle

The pine marten, more than all other representatives of its genus, prefers to live and hunt in trees. She easily climbs their trunks. Her tail helps her cope with this; it serves as a rudder for the marten, and sometimes as a parachute, thanks to which the animal jumps down without any consequences.

The tops of trees are absolutely not scary for the marten; it easily moves from one branch to another and can jump four meters. She also jumps on the ground. Swims skillfully, but does this very rarely.

In the photo there is a pine marten in a hollow

This is a dexterous and very fast animal. It can cover long distances quite quickly. Her senses of smell, sight and hearing are at top level, which helps a lot in hot. By its nature, it is a funny and inquisitive animal. Martens communicate with each other by purring and growling, and babies emit sounds similar to chirping.

Listen to the meow of a pine marten

Nutrition

This omnivore is not particularly picky in its food. The marten feeds depending on the season, habitat and availability of food. But she still gives greater preference to animal food. The most favorite prey of martens are squirrels.

Very often, a predator catches a squirrel right in its own hollow, but if this does not happen, it hunts for it for a long time and persistently, jumping from branch to branch. There is a huge list of representatives of the animal world that fall into grocery basket martens.

Starting from small snails, ending with hares and hedgehogs. Interesting Facts about the pine marten they say that she kills her victim with a single bite to the back of the head. The predator does not refuse carrion either.

The animal uses summer and autumn to replenish its body with vitamins. Berries, nuts, fruits, everything that is rich in useful microelements are used. The marten prepares some of them for future use and stores them in a hollow. The most favorite delicacies of the wallflower are blueberries and rowan berries.

Reproduction and lifespan of the pine marten

In the summer these animals begin their rut. One male mates with one or two females. In winter, martens often have a false rut. At this time, they behave restlessly, become warlike and nervous, but mating does not happen.

The female's pregnancy lasts 236-274 days. Before giving birth, she takes care of the shelter and settles there until the babies arrive. 3-8 cubs are born. Even though they are covered with a little fur, the babies are blind and deaf.

In the photo there is a baby pine marten

Hearing begins to emerge only on the 23rd day, and the eyes begin to see on the 28th day. The female can leave her babies while hunting. In case of possible danger, she moves them to a safer place.

At four months they can already live independently, but for some time they live with their mother. The marten lives up to 10 years, and when good conditions Its lifespan is about 15 years.

Many people can determine by appearance what kind of fur is used for a particular product, but not everyone knows what a marten or mink looks like. Meanwhile, martens are very beautiful small predators with very interesting habits.

Martens are very beautiful small predators with very interesting habits.

General information

In general terms, martens are predators of medium height. Exist different types these animals, which differ not only in fur color, but also in height and size. They also have General characteristics, for example, short five-toed paws. The fingers are separated and free. And these fingers have sharp claws. Another one common feature- a sharp muzzle with short ears divided into two parts. The body of martens is slender, rather long, the tail is shorter, but still impressive. It does not have such a beautiful fan as squirrel tails, but martens do not need this, the shape of the tail makes their body more streamlined and gives them additional speed.

Interestingly, martens have rather complex behavior. Many people imagine how they climb trees using their fingers and claws. But not everyone knows that these predators have developed motor skills at the level of a three-year-old child. These animals can also do gymnastics; they generally love outdoor games. Moreover, both adults and young animals spend a lot of time in such games. Little martens can generally spend the entire day playing. Interestingly, during games they make sounds similar to cooing.

The marten is a predator, feeds mainly on small rodents and birds, and can hunt rats, which even some cats are afraid of. In addition, she loves to feast on bird eggs. A bird is a special object for hunting. The marten is an animal that loves to play with its prey. If it gets into the chicken coop, it can strangle several birds and lay their carcasses in a row. For all its cuteness, such an animal is quite bloodthirsty and can drink the blood of birds.

Features of the marten (video)

American variety

There are different types of marten, and their appearance can differ markedly from each other. For example, there is American martens. As their name suggests, they live on the North American continent. They have a very wide habitat - almost from northern border forests in Alaska and up to New Mexico.

American martens climb trees no worse than all other species, and therefore they prefer to settle in forests, both coniferous and deciduous or mixed. Unfortunately, due to fishing and shrinking forest areas, the population of American animals is also decreasing.

Why is this predator so hunted? Because American martens have soft, thick and very beautiful fur. Its color can vary from pale yellow (it seems that the rays of the sun are climbing the trees) to reddish and brown shades with chocolate notes. The neck of such animals is lighter than the body, and the legs and tail are darker. Most often they have a dark brown tint. On the face, such animals have two black stripes that run vertically from the eyes.