Behavioral characteristics and lifestyle of martens. What does a marten look like (photo): a masterly forest predator Range, habitats

View: Marten – Martes (lat.)
Family: Musteluns
Squad: Predatory
Class: Mammals
Type: Chordata
Subtype: Vertebrates
Dimensions:
body length – 33-56 cm, tail – 17-28 cm, height at withers – 15 cm
weight – 0.5-2.4 kg
Lifespan: up to 20 years in captivity

A resident of forest areas, the marten prefers the upper layer of ancient spruce and pine trees. Nimble and unusually dexterous, it quickly climbs trees, makes dizzying jumps and grabs prey on the fly. Beneath his fragile body beats the heart of a ruthless and bloodthirsty hunter. Let's see what a marten looks like, photos, what it eats and where it lives.

Habitat

Preferring forest lands, martens have quite widely inhabited the territory of the Earth. Their habitat begins in Western Siberia, extends to the forests of Scotland and Ireland, touches the northern regions, and continues its way to the south, into the forest expanses of the Caucasus and the Mediterranean.

In terms of landscape, the animal chooses mature forests, with a sufficient number of hollow trees and abundant dead wood. It is in such an environment that the little predator feels comfortable, making a home in hollows; she rarely descends to the ground, moving along branches and tree trunks.

Interesting! Using its tail as a balancer, the marten makes jumps of 4 meters, jumping from tree to tree.

Characteristic

Possessing acute hearing, smell and vision, the large marten is nocturnal. She does not stay in one place for a long time and is not tied to one den. The animal easily finds shelter in squirrel hollows and bird nests, having previously destroyed them. The flexible body allows the animal to squeeze into narrow crevices between stones and take a daytime rest there.

The marten likes a solitary lifestyle. Pairs form only to produce offspring. An excellent hunter, the animal, while looking for food, also performs another important mission, regulating the number of small rodents in its territory. Surprisingly, in one day of hunting the animal can cover a distance of 20 km. Winding intricate loops around its territory, the animal seeks out prey until it is satiated. Having eaten, the marten lies down to rest in the dead wood or hollow closest to the hunting site.

Appearance

The slender, long body of the marten is covered with fur with equally long pile. In Ancient Rus', marten fur was highly valued and served as a currency. Bundles of marten skins were used to pay for goods and services; from them the monetary unit kuna got its name.

• On the throat and along the bottom of the neck of the animal there is a beautiful yellow spot, often taking the bizarre shape of drops that accidentally fell on the animal’s body.
• The neat muzzle is elongated into a sharp triangle. The head is crowned with rather large ears, with slightly rounded edges.

• The animal's fluffy tail can be as long as its body. There are five fingers on the paws, with semi-retractable claws, which help the marten to deftly climb trees and securely grab prey.

• The fur changes its color depending on the season: in winter it is dark brown, with yellowish tints, in summer it becomes dull and significantly shortens in length.
• The back is darker in color, while the sides and belly take on light shades of the main color.

Interesting! Among the numerous family of mustelids, there are individuals with yellow and silver fur, like the harza, in one of the species of which, the Nilgiri harza, the throat is colored bright orange.

Key Features

Not favoring walking on the ground, the marten photo most often finds the animal on branches or in hollows of trees. Throughout its life, the marten moves by jumping, leaving paired paw prints on the snow and ground. Without radically changing the area of ​​residence, the animal can have several shelters on the territory for sleeping and raising cubs. The small predator does not leave its area even when food becomes scarce.

When hunting, it prefers the night time, visiting bird nests, squirrel hollows, and guarding small rodents, sitting comfortably on a tree branch. Small, but surprisingly brave and strong, the marten can cope with a hare and break the neck of a capercaillie.

There are frequent cases of martens visiting chicken coops. Unable to carry away all the prey, the animal can strangle all the chickens, for which it deserves the just wrath of people. However, it is a mistake to think that it is greed that drives the animal. Everything is much simpler: birds, frightened by the invasion of a predator, begin to rush about randomly, fueling the animal’s predatory instinct, so it “calms” both them and itself.

Nutrition

Interesting! The marten loves to visit bee hives, feasting on honey and larvae there. She won’t even pass by the fat caterpillar.

Such omnivorousness helps the animal in years when there is little abundance of small game. In addition, the marten willingly stores supplies for the winter, filling hollows with plant products.

Reproduction

Puberty occurs at the age of 14 months in both females and males. However, mating usually occurs at the age of 2 - 3 years. The mating season begins in early June and lasts until July. At this time, females go into heat, which lasts about 4 days, with an interval of 6 - 17 days.

Interesting! Marten pregnancy lasts about 28 days, but before this there is a latent stage of development, lasting 235 - 275 days.

One female brings from 2 to 7 puppies, which remain with the mother for 3 months. If the birth was late, then the puppies can live in their native den until spring.

Breeding, fishing, commercial value

Of the mustelidae family, only a few species are not of interest in terms of fur production. The majority, starting with the king of sable fur, are considered valuable fur-bearing animals. Magnificent marten fur coats adorn the wardrobes of modern fashionistas and are inexpensive. Practical and beautiful marten fur can withstand 7 seasons of wear and rightfully occupies one of the leading positions in the popularity lists.

Interesting! The structure of marten fur is well ventilated without trapping dust particles, which increases its hypoallergenic properties.

The annual hunt for marten is strictly limited due to the limited number of animals in its habitat. At fur auctions, the sale of marten skins is limited to 500 pieces. When it comes to animal hunting methods, fishing with a dog remains the best. Traps and snares that trap animals do not produce high-quality raw materials. During the time that the hunter takes to check the traps, the fur is damaged by small rodents and other predators.

To meet industrial needs, martens are actively bred on fur farms. Attempts to buy a marten for home keeping often end in failure. It is difficult to find puppies obtained in captivity, but those brought from the forest either die or require special conditions for normal development. The marten is not kept in a small cage; it is necessary to build a large enclosure for it, equipped with trees, hidden manholes and other attributes of the animal’s free life.

In nature, animals rarely live to be 5-6 years old, but in captivity, with proper care, they successfully age, living 18-20 years.

The marten is a fast and cunning predator, capable of easily overcoming numerous obstacles, climbing steep trunks and moving along tree branches. Of particular value is its beautiful yellowish-chocolate fur.

Description of the marten

This is a fairly large animal. The marten's habitats are coniferous and mixed forests, in which there are sufficient numbers of old hollow trees and impenetrable thickets of bushes. It is in such places that the marten can easily get food and find shelters, which it arranges in hollows at altitude.

This is interesting! The marten can quickly climb trees and even jump from one branch to another, using its luxurious tail as a parachute. She swims and runs excellently (including through a snowy forest, since the thick edges on her paws prevent the animal from falling deep into the snow).

Thanks to its speed, strength and agility, this animal is an excellent hunter. Its prey is usually small animals, birds and amphibians, and in pursuit of a squirrel, the marten is capable of making huge jumps along tree branches. The marten often destroys bird nests. Not only ground-based birds suffer from its attacks, but also birds that build their nests high in the trees. It should also be noted that the marten benefits humans by regulating the rodent population in its habitat.

Appearance

The marten has a lush and beautiful coat, which is much silkier in winter than in summer. Its color can have different shades of brown (chocolate, chestnut, brown). The back of the animal is grayish-brown, and the sides are much lighter. A rounded spot of bright yellow color is clearly visible on the breast, which is much brighter in summer than in winter.

The marten's paws are quite short, with five fingers, on which there are sharp claws. The muzzle is pointed, with short triangular ears, edged with yellow fur. The marten's body is squat and has an elongated shape, and the adult size is about half a meter. The weight of males is larger than that of females and rarely exceeds 2 kilograms.

Lifestyle

The physique of an animal directly affects its lifestyle and habits. The marten moves mainly by jumping. The flexible, slender body of the animal allows it to move with lightning speed in the branches, appearing only for a second in the gaps of pines and spruces. The marten likes to live high in the treetops. With the help of her claws, she is able to climb even the smoothest and most even trunks.

This is interesting! This animal most often chooses a diurnal lifestyle. It spends most of its time in trees or hunting. He tries to avoid the person in every possible way.

The marten makes its nest in hollows at a height of more than 10 meters or in the crown of trees. It becomes very attached to its favorite areas and does not leave them even if there is some shortage of food. Despite such a sedentary lifestyle, these representatives of the mustelid family can migrate after squirrels, which sometimes migrate en masse over considerable distances.

Among the areas of the forest where martens live, two types of areas can be distinguished: passage areas, where they practically never visit, and “hunting grounds,” where they spend almost all their time. In the warm season, these animals choose a small area that is as rich in food as possible and try not to leave it. In winter, the lack of food pushes them to expand their land and actively place markers along their routes.

Types of martens

Martens are predators belonging to the mustelidae family. There are several species of these animals, with slight differences in appearance and habits, which is due to their different habitats:

This is a fairly rare and little-studied species of animal. Externally, the American marten is similar to the pine marten. Its color can vary from yellowish to chocolate shades. The chest is light yellow in color, and the paws can be almost black. The habits of this representative of the mustelid family have not yet been fully studied, since the American marten prefers to hunt exclusively at night and avoids people in every possible way.

Quite a large species of marten. The length of its body together with the tail in some individuals reaches one meter, and its weight is 4 kilograms. The coat is dark, mostly brown. In summer, the fur is quite hard, but by winter it becomes softer and longer, and a noble silvery tint appears on it. Ilka hunts squirrels, hares, mice, arboreal porcupines and birds. Loves to eat fruits and berries. These representatives of the mustelid family can easily pursue prey not only underground, but also high in the trees.

The main area of ​​its distribution is the territory of Europe. The stone marten often settles not far from human habitation, which is extremely uncharacteristic for representatives of the mustelid family. The fur of this species of animal is quite hard, gray-brown in color. He has an oblong light area on his neck. Characteristic features of the stone marten are a light nose and feet devoid of edges. The main prey of this species are small rodents, frogs, lizards, birds and insects. In summer, they can eat plant foods. They can attack domestic chickens and rabbits. It is this species that most often becomes the object of hunting and extraction of valuable fur.

Its habitat is the forests of the European Plain and some parts of Asia. The animal is brown in color with a pronounced yellow spot on the throat. The pine marten is an omnivore, but the bulk of its diet consists of meat. It hunts mainly for squirrels, voles, amphibians and birds. Can feed on carrion. In the warm season, it eats fruits, berries and nuts.

This representative of the mustelid family has such an unusual color that many consider this animal to be an independent species. - a fairly large animal. The body length (including tail) sometimes exceeds one meter, and the weight of individual specimens can be 6 kilograms. The wool has a beautiful shine. It hunts mainly squirrels, sables, chipmunks, raccoon dogs, hares, birds and rodents. Can diversify its diet with insects or frogs. There have been cases of harza attacks on elk, deer, and wild boar cubs. She also eats nuts, berries and wild honey.

Quite a large representative of the family. Its length reaches one meter, and its weight reaches 2.5 kilograms. The habits and lifestyle of the Nilgiri harza have been studied rather poorly. It is believed that the animal prefers a diurnal lifestyle and lives mainly in trees. Scientists admit that during the hunt the animal sinks to the ground, like other types of martens. Some eyewitnesses claim that they witnessed this animal hunting birds and squirrels.

How long does a marten live?

The life expectancy of martens under favorable conditions can reach 15 years, but in the wild they live much shorter. This animal has many competitors in terms of food production - all medium and large predatory forest inhabitants. However, there are no enemies that pose a serious threat to the marten population in nature.

In certain areas, the number of animals depends on spring floods (which kill a significant part of the rodents, which are one of the main components of the marten’s diet) and constant deforestation (the destruction of old forests can eventually lead to the complete disappearance of these animals).

Range, habitats

The life of a marten is closely connected with the forest. Most often it can be found in spruce, pine or other coniferous forests. In the northern regions the habitat is spruce or fir, and in the southern regions there are spruce or mixed forests.

For permanent residence, she chooses forests rich in windbreaks, old tall trees, large edges, as well as an abundance of clearings with young undergrowth.

The marten can choose flat areas and mountain forests, where it lives in the valleys of large rivers and streams. Some species of this animal prefer rocky areas and stone placers. Most of these representatives of mustelids try to avoid human habitats. The exception is the stone marten, which can settle directly near human settlements.

This is interesting! Unlike other members of the family, for example, sables (living only in Siberia), the marten is distributed throughout almost the entire European territory, right up to the Ural Mountains and the Ob River.

Course “Earth is our home”

Lesson 7 “The marten is a squirrel hunter”

The marten, like many animals, molts, but does not change color. After each molt, her fur improves. Like the fox, the marten's fur is its misfortune. Why do you think?

There are so many hunters for marten fur that the marten has to be very careful. It's almost impossible to see her. In addition, the marten is nocturnal.

What time of day does the marten feed? What time of day does he rest?

This animal is quite famous - thanks to its beautiful warm fur. Its marten skins were even a type of “currency” (money) among the ancient Slavs.

V. Bianki “Marten after a squirrel”

A lot of squirrels migrated to our forest. In the north, where they lived, they didn’t have enough cones - there was a bad harvest there. They settled on the pine trees. The hind paws hold onto the branch, and the front paws hold the bump. They are gnawing. One of them had a cone fall out of her paws and onto the ground, into the snow. The squirrel felt sorry for the cone. She clicked angrily and from branch to branch, from branch to branch - down. Look, in the pile of brushwood there is someone’s dark fur, quick eyes...

The squirrel also forgot about the bump. Jump onto the first tree and up the trunk. And from the brushwood - a marten, and behind it. She quickly climbed up the trunk. The squirrel is already at the end of the branch. Marten on a branch, squirrel - jump! - to another tree. The marten gathered its entire narrow snake body into a ball - its back arched - and also jumped...

The squirrel doesn’t have to choose: it jumps to the ground and to another tree. Well, on earth, a squirrel cannot argue with a marten. In three leaps she caught up, knocked her down - and that was the end of the squirrel.

One of the largest representatives of the genus of martens is the kharza (yellow-breasted or Ussuri marten, lat. Martes flavigula). The animal grows up to 80 cm in length, and about 40 cm more in the tail. For comparison: the maximum length of the pine marten is 58 cm, and that of the American marten is 45 cm.

In addition to its impressive size, the harza is distinguished by its variegated, multi-colored color. Admire: the top of the head and muzzle are black, the lower jaw is white, the fur on the throat and chest is bright yellow, on the body this color fades to a golden hue, and finally, the tail and legs are dark brown. This exotic coloring, characteristic of tropical animals, was given to the Ussuri marten for a reason - thanks to it, other, larger predators do not seek to hunt the harza.

The summer fur of Ussuri martens is darker, shorter and coarser than the winter fur. Despite its beautiful shade, this fur is not highly valued, so the kharza is also not a desirable prey for hunters. The biggest threat facing this species is deforestation and, as a consequence, the disappearance of its usual habitat and food supply.

Kharza fully justifies the aphorism “Movement is life.” She runs quickly, quickly climbs trees and deftly jumps from branch to branch. In this she is helped by long sharp claws, surprisingly mobile fingers, and large powerful paws in general.

Jumping from tree to tree, the animal makes leaps of up to 4 meters. All this allows him to be one of the most successful and powerful taiga predators: his diet includes not only nuts or insects, but also squirrels, mice, hares, sables, birds and even such a large ungulate animal as the musk deer (lat. Moschus moschiferus) .
By the way, the yellow-breasted marten is also a rare species of these predators that lives and hunts in schools. During the hunt, harzas stretch across the terrain and call to one another with characteristic yapping sounds. All their actions are clearly coordinated - each animal knows what the others are doing. The cunning of the harza has been noted more than once by zoologists. Last year, the harza successfully emptied traps set by specialists of the Land of the Leopard Park for research, showing ingenuity and intelligence.

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 predatory mammals from the mustelidae 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 rapid movement through trees and for sudden 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.

The color of the pine marten ranges from chestnut to dark brown with a yellowish round throat patch. In winter, the animal's fur is long and silky; in summer it becomes shorter and tougher.

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-fingered 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 all kinds of boogers.

The marten is a 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 their evolutionary changes are 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 of 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 white-breasted bears lived and wintered in them. 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 occur. 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 it 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 following 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 the wild, the 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. At the same time, it is the mixed forest zone that suffers the most, where the marten has until now found food and shelter in sufficient quantities. Deforestation and development, of course, greatly destroy the natural habitat of martens. 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.

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