The marten is a representative of the large family of mustelids. It is an agile and nimble predator, capable of easily overcoming various obstacles in pursuit of prey, climbing the upper canopy of the forest and climbing tree trunks. The animal marten is a valuable fur-bearing animal and has beautiful noble fur from dark to chestnut to brownish-yellow shades.
Let's find out more about this valuable fur-bearing animal...
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The marten is an animal with thick and soft fur, which can be colored in various shades of brown (dark brown, chestnut, brownish yellow). On the neck the marten has a yellow throat spot, round in shape. Paws are short, five-fingered. There are claws on the fingers. The muzzle is sharp. The ears are short, triangular, with a yellow stripe along the edge. The body is slender, squat, slightly elongated (from 45 cm to 58 cm). The tail is fluffy, long, reaches half of the marten’s body (from 16 cm to 28 cm in length). Body weight – from 800 g to 1.8 kg. Females are on average 30 percent lighter than males. The winter fur of the marten is much silkier and longer than the summer one, and the summer fur is tougher and shorter than the winter one.
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In nature there are several species of martens, each of which lives in its own geographical and climatic zones, spreading strictly within their own ranges.
- Martes americana - the American marten is included in the category of rare animals; in appearance it resembles a pine marten, a nocturnal predatory animal.
- Martes pennanti - silt occupies hollow trees, preferring to stick to coniferous forest plantations.
- Martes foina – the stone marten inhabits extremely large range, more often than other species, serves as an object of hunting for fur.
- Martes martes - the pine marten is very common in Europe and Eurasia and is a source of high-quality fur.
- Martes gwatkinsii - Nilgiri marten is a unique animal that occupies the southern zones.
- Martes zibellina - sable is a long-time hunted animal, sometimes forming a hybrid species called kidus (a cross between marten and sable).
- Martes flavigula - harza belongs to the category of Asian inhabitants, occupying vast areas there.
- Martes melampus, the Japanese marten, is a source of fur throughout the main Japanese islands.
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Stone marten
The American marten is found throughout the American continent.
American marten
Ilka occupies a niche in North American forests, found from the Appalachians (Western Virginia) to the Sierra Nevada (California).
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Ilka is the most major representative mustelids
The pine marten covers almost all European countries: it can be found from Western Siberia to the British Isles in the north and from Elbrus and the Caucasus to the Mediterranean in the south.
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Nilgiri Kharza
Nilgiri marten inhabits southern part India, living in the Western Ghats and the Nilgiri hills. Sable is an inhabitant of the Russian taiga, which occupies the territory from Pacific Ocean to the Urals.
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The yellow-breasted marten, or harsa, prefers warm countries East and Southeast Asia, but you can also find it in Russia - in the Far East. The fur of the Ussuri marten is of little value, but the species is still endangered. The range of the harza is narrowing due to human activity - people are changing the habitat of the species. Author of the photo: Yuri Kotyukov.
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Kharza is found on the Korean Peninsula, China, Turkey, Iran, in the Himalayan foothills, Indochina, Hindustan, on the Malay Peninsula and on the Greater Sunda Islands. It is also widely represented in Pakistan, Nepal, Georgia, and Afghanistan. It is also found in Russia, occupying the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, Sikhote-Alin, the Ussuri River basin and the Amur region. The Japanese marten initially inhabits the 3 main islands of Japan - Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu. It also lives on Tsushima, Korea, and the islands of Sado and Hokkaido.
In Russia, the main species of martens found are sable, pine marten, stone marten and harza.
The pine marten feeds on both animal and plant foods. Often these are various rodents (mice and voles). One of the most common victims of martens is often squirrels. The marten also feeds on hares. The white hare often becomes the prey of predators in winter. The marten also catches hazel grouse. The marten does this especially well when, in the cold season, hazel grouse burrow into snowdrifts. This helps the birds escape the severe frosts. At this time, the marten catches them. This animal hunts black grouse very rarely. This happens only if the predator is severely hungry. The remaining birds inhabiting the marten's habitat are not of interest to the predator. The marten loves to feast on bumblebees, bees, and wasps. The larvae of these insects and their honey. The marten feeds on plant foods, including various berries: lingonberries, mountain ash, viburnum, blueberries, hawthorn, rose hips, bird cherry. When there are a lot of berries and berries in the forest for a long time do not crumble, the marten feeds only on them and rarely hunts other animals.
The physique of the marten directly affects its habits: this animal can only move stealthily or spasmodically (while running). The flexible body of the marten works like an elastic spring, which is why the fleeing animal only briefly flashes in the gaps of the paws of coniferous trees. The marten prefers to stay in the middle and upper forest layers. She deftly climbs trees, climbing even upright trunks, which her rather sharp claws allow her to do.
The marten leads a predominantly diurnal lifestyle, hunting on the ground and spending the vast majority of its time in the trees. The marten makes its home in the hollows of trees up to 16 meters high or directly in their crown. The marten not only avoids humans, but hides from them. Leads a sedentary life, without changing its favorite habitats even when there is a shortage of food. But occasionally it can wander behind squirrels, which periodically undertake mass migrations over long distances.
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In the zone of forests occupied by martens, there are two types of areas: migratory areas, where they visit occasionally, and daily hunting areas, where martens spend the most time. In summer and autumn, martens develop an exclusively small part of their hunting grounds, living for a long time in places with the greatest accumulation of food. In winter, these boundaries greatly expand due to a lack of food, and martens develop active fat routes. They most often visit places such as shelters and feeding areas, marking them with urine.
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Photo 14. 
Dasyurus viverrinus – Speckled marsupial marten
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Dasyurus viverrinus – Speckled marsupial marten
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The marten's entire way of life is connected with the forest. It is found in many forested areas where different trees grow, but most of all it prefers spruce, pine forests and coniferous plantations close to them. In the northern regions there are spruce-fir forests, in the southern regions there are spruce-broad-leaved forests, in the Caucasus region there are fir-beech forests.
For permanent habitat, the marten chooses cluttered areas of large forests with tall trees, old forests, which are mixed with small areas of young undergrowth, with long edges, and forest areas with undergrowth and clearings. But it can also settle in flat areas, in mountain forests, where it is found in the valleys of large streams and rivers. Some species of marten do not avoid rocky areas or placers. They try to stay away from human habitats, penetrating into settlements only through park areas. The only exception is the stone marten, which often settles right in cities and villages.
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Martens are omnivores, but most often they eat small mammals (such as voles and squirrels), birds and their eggs. They are distinguished by the fact that they are interested in rats as a subject of hunting, which cats try to avoid due to their large size. Martens do not disdain carrion, insects, snails, frogs, and reptiles. In autumn, martens readily feed on nuts, berries and fruits. At the end of summer and throughout the fall, martens store food in reserve, which will be useful to them during the cold season.
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The stone marten or white marten is smaller (body length 46 centimeters, tail 24 cm). Its legs are shorter and its ears are smaller than those of an ordinary marten. The animal has an elongated head with a short muzzle. The color of the predator is gray-brown with a whitish undercoat and a white spot on the chest in the place where the pine marten has a yellow spot. The length of the outer edge of the upper carnivorous tooth is greater than the width of the upper tuberculate tooth, which is concave and bilobed on the outside.
The stone marten is found in central Europe, Italy with the exception of Sardinia, England, Sweden and western Asia (especially Palestine, Syria and Asia Minor), and is also found in Afghanistan and the Himalayas (at least 1600 meters above sea level). In Russia the beast lives in Central Russia, in Siberia. The marten is also found in the Caucasus.
The beast lives near human dwellings in heaps of stones, old buildings, barns and stables. The marten is an excellent climber and greatly harms poultry and their eggs. Like other martens, it often kills many more animals than it can eat.
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Hunting for the stone marten is carried out in the north of Russia and Siberia with a dog, which, having attacked the marten's trail in winter, chases it barking first along the ground, and then, when the animal climbs a tree, the dog follows its movements. An industrialist, approaching the marten’s stopping place “in response to the barking of a dog,” shoots at it, but if it hid in a hollow, he cuts down a tree and takes the animal out of the hollow. When a marten, escaping persecution, climbs into a pile of windfall covered with snow, this place is dug with a ditch and a net is covered around its inner side, into which the marten ends up. In Siberia, martens are caught with traps and a special trap - a mouth, which consists of a pole that falls on the animal at the moment when, running under the trap, it touches the outstretched sima (a thin cord, usually made of white horsehair). The mouths are placed on the marten trails.
Sometimes the marten is lured into a trap by food, that is, bait in the form of a hazel grouse or a small bird. Kuni fishing is highly developed in the Kuban region, where it is practiced by mountain tribes: Karachais, Kabardins and especially Abazins. For fishing, the mountaineers leave home in October or November, while deep snows do not yet interfere with the movement of the convoy. Having arrived at the place, they are divided into groups of 4 to 6 people and hunt until the end of February or March. The traps used usually take the form of a board, one narrow side of which is inserted into a groove dug into the tree trunk. The other side is supported by stakes driven into the ground. In one system, bait (pork meat) is placed on a board, and the marten is killed by the impact of another board, inserted at an angle to the first, in the same trench. In other traps, the bait is tied under a board, and the marten is crushed by a heavy crossbar, adapted to the same stakes on which the board is attached.
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A party of 20-40 hunters catches up to 500 or more martens during the winter. Hunting for martens in the Caucasus is carried out using traps. Which are smeared with lard and buried in the ground. Smelling the smell of lard, martens dig the ground and fall into traps with their heads or feet. Near residential areas, fresh eggs are added to traps for bait. In order for a marten hunt to be successful, you need to go hunting with a trained dog, move through the forest on skis in winter and be prepared to spend the night right in the forest. The marten can move through trees for many kilometers, so the hunter must be resilient. Experienced hunters can learn a lot about the numbers and sex of martens from tracks in the snow.
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furry animal
Alternative descriptionsIn the cartoon - a cute “baby”, in life - a valuable fur-bearing animal
Forest washerwoman
Not a sperm whale, not a hippopotamus, but also a rhyme for the word cat
It can be a gargle and a crustacean
Predatory mammal with dark yellow valuable fur
Hat Beast
This animal from the famous cartoon was afraid of its reflection in the river
I went to the pond for sedge
. "relative" of the red panda
Scared of the reflection
Furry laundry lover
A beast with a neat image
Panda as a representative of the animal world
. "sinking..." (palindrome)
This Little One smiled at his reflection in the water
This is Canada's top predator, cute, with human-like arms
Thanks to this hero's song, we learned that friendship begins with a smile
Russian merchants who traded with the West in the sixteenth century first encountered the skins of an unknown animal, which the Americans called “racoon”, but what do we call it now?
This animal devotes 22% of its active time to palpating, most often on the shore of a reservoir; its Indian name is “one who scratches with his hands,” but what do we call him?
. “Wasche” is German for “washing”, “bar” is German for “bear”, and what animal do the Germans call “waschebar”?
According to some legends, at a meeting of animals, where the question of whether there should be eternal day or eternal night on Earth was decided, in the end, after a long debate, a chipmunk came forward and, without further ado, pointed to the tail of his neighbor, and who was this neighbor?
Who was Roney, the Lake Placid Olympics mascot?
Cute cartoon baby
Striped garter
Baby with a “song about a smile”
An animal with the habits of a washerwoman
Cartoon baby animal
Fur animal
Furry animal
Both the gargle and the crustacean
Fought with the one in the pond
Gargle or crustacean
cartoon baby
Crayfish animal
Brutal Gargle
Animal with valuable fur
Eraser Beast
Animal with beautiful fur
Radiation beast
Cartoon baby
. "Smile, baby..."
Clean animal
Beast-gargle
Gargle and crustacean
. "laundress" in a valuable fur coat
Sang about a smile
Valuable gargle
. "laundress" from Durov's corner
Who sang to us about smiling?
Cartoon baby
Fluffy gargle
The brutal status of the gargle
Gargle
Crayfish fur
Fur-bearing crayfish
Hero of the film "Forest Brotherhood"
Washerwoman in the animal world
Killed in abbreviation u. e.
Baby smiling at the reflection
A handsome guy who sang about a smile
Furry animal in a “mask”
Gargle, crayfish and kinkajou
Fur gargle
Furry animal-gargle
Baby Beast (m/f)
Furry clean food lover
Performer of the song “From a Smile” in the famous cartoon
Who was the Roni mascot? (Olympus.)
Fur predator
Furry animal with a muzzle in a “mask”
Fur washerwoman
Baby - animal from m/f
Animal in a “mask”
Wild gargle
Predatory furry animal
Panda's Kindred
Played a laundress in a living corner
Kinkajou like an animal
Babybeast from the cartoon
Tresmaria...
Funny furry animal
animal, knowledgeable in the wash
Funny animal
Fur washing fanatic
Nose like a beast
Fluffy crayfish and crayfish
Cozumel...
An animal skilled in washing
Raked beetle, “dressed” in fur
Animal gargle
An animal in a “mask”, but not a panda
Predatory animal
. "laundress" from a living corner
Furry crayfish lover
Forest fur-bearing animal
Furry animal
Predatory mammal with dark yellow valuable fur
Fur-bearing animal, a predatory mammal of the raccoon family
. "The Laundress" from Durov's Corner
. "Laundress" from a living corner
. "Relative" of the red panda
. "Sinking..." (palindrome)
. "Laundress" in a valuable fur coat
. "Smile, baby..."
This animal devotes 22% of its active time to palpating, most often on the shore of a reservoir; its Indian name is “one who scratches with his hands,” and that’s what we call him
In the cartoon - a cute "baby", in life - a valuable fur-bearing animal
Hero of the film "Forest Brotherhood"
Animal in a "mask"
An animal in a "mask", but not a panda
Performer of the song "From a Smile" in the famous cartoon
Baby - animal from m/f
Baby - cartoon animal
Baby - an animal from a Soviet cartoon
Baby with a "song about a smile"
Who sang to us about a smile
M. is a small American animal of the bear family, the crayfish, the bear, Ursus lotor. The first raccoon furs were brought to St. Petersburg to the Cabinet, and the Greek Gennadi was in charge of them; buyers called them genadievs, which is what they finally made into raccoons. However, the raccoon civet is called Viverra Genetta; and although this is a completely different animal, isn’t it closer to the point to look for connections here? Raccoon furs are in common use among us. south Sib. there is a raccoon animal, locally manal and mangut, the description is very similar to the American one
Furry animal in a "mask"
Furry animal with a muzzle in a “mask”
Crayfish or gargle beetle
Raked beetle "dressed" in fur
Russian merchants who traded with the West in the sixteenth century first encountered the skins of an unknown animal, which the Americans called “racoon”, which is what we call it now
Killed in abbreviation u.e
Furry animal
An animal with the habits of a washerwoman
An animal in a "mask", but not a panda
Little animal from the cartoon
Kinkajou like an animal
Furry animal in a "mask"
Furry animal with a muzzle in a “mask”
Little animal from the cartoon
In Chinese mythology, this animal means supernatural powers and deceit; among Europeans, it is a symbol of clumsiness, but not many people know what its fur looks like. And yet, in the modern world, the badger has taken a strong place among furs, which are especially in demand among fashionistas and fashionistas.
Squirrel
Royalty has long held squirrel fur in high esteem. Soft, thin and delicate material emphasized the grace and brilliance of a high-born lady. And although today monarchs are a rarity, nevertheless, the squirrel is still loved by the people. After all, she, just as gracefully and nobly as before, allows modern woman feel like a queen.
Beaver
Many of us dream of a feminine, light and soft fur coat that can simultaneously keep us warm in the bitter cold. And so that it costs just enough so that you can afford it. And so that it can be worn for a long, long time. And we want many, many more things. And the main thing is that today we can afford it. For more than five years now, the fur clothing market has been ruled by beaver, an extraordinary fur that meets all the requirements of a practical housewife - amazing wear resistance, lightness, softness, thermal insulation and an optimal price.
Wolf
Many people consider wolf fur to be unattractive compared to other types of fur. However, it is widely used by leading fashion houses and numerous fashion designers in their collections. And although wolf fur is considered more masculine, in practice this is not the case: to create an image strong woman Fashion designers often use wolf fur in numerous accessories, decorations, and even sew fur jackets and coats from it.
Ermine
Ermine fur is not particularly wear-resistant and durable, but ermine is at the head of the hierarchical ladder in the world of fur. It has always been especially valued for its whiteness and softness. In addition, ermine has always been known as a rarity - that is why it was endowed with extraordinary properties. The amazing softness of ermine fur has made the animal a symbol of one of the five senses - touch.
Raccoon, Finnish raccoon
In the old days, raccoon skins were called “genette furs,” since the animal resembled a genet with its striped tail. Later they began to call him “genot” or raccoon. English name The raccoon beast was born thanks to the American Indians, who used the Algonquian language in their speech. In many countries in Europe and Asia, the raccoon is called the “rinse bear” or “washing bear.”
Karakul, broadtail, swakara
One of the first animals that people began to breed for their beautiful fur was the Karakul sheep. Of course, in those days they did not sew fur coats from astrakhan fur, but simply skins. The Uzbek Karakul sheep is considered the ancestor of the current Karakul sheep, because it originated from the territory of the Khorezm Khanate (present-day Uzbekistan).
Coyote
Coyote fur is traditionally considered a man's fur, along with wolf fur, from which the coyote is distinguished by its soft guard hair and thick underfur. Coyote is also used to make collars and cuffs. IN last years many world-class designers have turned their attention to this rare view furs and products made from coyote can be seen in almost any fall-winter collection.
Columns
Just some ten to fifteen years ago, a set of familiar types of fur for Russian women limited only to rabbit, mink, scribe, nutria and astrakhan fur - these are, perhaps, all the furs known to the majority. We loved natural fur coats no less back then, but not everyone could afford to understand fur and wear something unusual on their shoulders.
Rabbit, rex rabbit, orylag
When we talk about a rabbit fur coat, we almost always mean a short-lived product. Although rabbit fur has one of the lowest wear resistance, its value does not decrease because of this, and even more so the demand for such fur coats. Rabbit fur coats can be worn for two seasons on average. Which is considered quite sufficient, since over time the fashion for various tailoring and cuts of clothes changes.
Mole
When choosing a fur coat, many of us think only about well-known furs, which are sometimes so boring that even leading fashion houses and famous fashion designers have stopped using them in their collections. What is in fashion now is not what may seem expensive, but so boring, but what can, if not shock, then definitely attract everyone's attention.
Marten
The fur of this animal is not valued as highly as the same sable, but, for example, in Europe, where sable is not found, the marten boldly occupies its “niche.” This animal, it must be said, has a whole trail of signs and superstitions; it has long been considered a harbinger of bad omens. At the same time, marten fur has always been at a premium in Rus'.
Llama, alpaca
What types of furs can you see on the fragile shoulders of fashion models? Among them is llama - fur that decorates, warms, soothes and even heals. The llama is an unusually fluffy animal that gives us very soft, thick and pleasant to the touch fur, which is also not afraid of moisture and, on the contrary, after getting wet it becomes more lively, cuter, and curls more tightly into a spiral.
Common weasel
The weasel has a thin, highly elongated body with very short legs. The neck is long and quite powerful for such a small animal - only slightly thinner than the body, bears a narrow (no thicker than the neck) head with a small, blunt muzzle and short ears that practically do not protrude upward. All this taken together gives the weasel a kind of “snake-like” appearance: the impression is enhanced by the flexible, as if “reptile” movements of the animal.
Fox wild
Fox fur is indispensable when luxury, seductiveness, and sensuality are required in clothing. Their texture is so convenient for design that it is difficult to imagine that back in 2004 - 2005, fashion designers rarely used foxes in central roles in their collections.
Farm fox
Fox fur coats are charm, uniqueness and style. Bright, sensual, long-haired fox fur has always attracted the attention of people who want to stand out from the crowd and bring daily life luxury and colors. Fox fur is very soft, and in some species it is quite delicate. Fur products are warm and will ideally protect you from bad weather and frost. The wear period varies from five to eight years.
Mink
Mink has rightfully been one of the most beloved types of fur all over the world for many years in a row. This fur has become a symbol of a certain social status, an object of aspiration. A mink coat is something every woman dreams of at least once in her life. This is the first rule of playing like a wealthy, respectable woman.
Nutria
Nutria fur is more wear-resistant than muskrat and marten fur, and its weight is less than rabbit fur, so products made from it are light, beautiful and durable. Like all the furs of animals that live in water, nutria fur is not afraid of moisture, and this is very important for our climate, when there is frost in the morning and rain in the afternoon.
Sheepskin (mouton)
Mouton is an excellent fur for Russian cold weather. Sheep fur retains heat perfectly, it is not blown out, perfectly resists moisture, and, most importantly, it is very wearable. The heat-saving qualities of a mouton can only be compared with a fox. And in terms of wearability, the mouton is second only to the otter. A mouton fur coat can last you up to 10 seasons.
Muskrat
Muskrat fur is beautiful, thick, and pleasant to the touch. Its color can vary from light ocher to almost black, although chestnut-brown shades are most common. Due to most This animal spends its life in water; its fur coats have excellent water-repellent properties. Considering that our winters are characterized by slushy and frosty weather conditions, this circumstance immediately puts the muskrat in the category of practical furs. Fur coats, jackets, and coats made from muskrat fur have quite a lot of advantages. Fur products made from this fur will perfectly warm you in any cold, and they are almost weightless and cozy.
Opossum
The opossum is ideal for young girls who cannot afford or can handle a pompous sable or an oligarchic chinchilla. It is very suitable for students or secretaries; it is used to make insulated fur coats and light fur coats, which are so pleasant to wear in April or October; it is also used to trim suits and hats.
Arctic fox
Long-haired arctic fox fur is ideal for those who value comfort and warmth combined with beauty. In addition, it is believed that the fur of the Arctic fox has extraordinary sensuality. Arctic fox fur is used as the main material in many types of women's clothing and accessories. These are all kinds of fur coats and sheepskin coats, coats, muffs, collars, hats, bags
Pony
In the new winter season, natural furs will remain a symbol of prestige. Fur is on all catwalks and in all shop windows: from wild and disheveled, in the taste of barbarian peoples, to classic - smooth and elegant. Fur with low pile, shorn, reminiscent of plush rather than animal skin is becoming very popular. And here the fur and leather from the delicate animal pony, which is extremely popular today, rightly dictates its rights.
Wolverine
Wolverine fur - fluffy, warm, long, harsh, dark chestnut in color - is not as valuable as the skin of marten and sable, but it has one unusual property that no other type of fur can boast of: thanks to the thick undercoat, it never covered with frost from breathing, even in the most severe frosts. The fur fibers are so dense and smooth that the ice crystals simply have nothing to catch on and they fall off.
Lynx and lynx cat
Lynx fur is very beautiful - it shimmers in all shades of orange, golden, and brown. However, to sew truly valuable and fabulously expensive fur coats, comparable in price to the cost of a sports car, they use only delicate white fur with black spots (they are located on the animal’s abdomen). The more contrasting the black inclusions, the more expensive the fur is valued.
Skunk
The skunk is a typically American fur. It is distributed from Canada to Mexico. It was from North America that it came to Europe and became popular.
The skunk's fur is very thick, lush, but rough, and its tail is shaggy. The color of most of the body is dark brown, almost black. Against this background, wide white stripes stand out sharply, starting on the head and stretching on both sides of the ridge to the tail, which is covered with mixed black and white hair.
Sable
Because of its beautiful, durable and expensive fur, sable is called the king of wild furs - “soft gold”. Sable is the pride of Russian furriers, because it has always been a symbol of luxury and wealth in Rus'. Sable fur coats, coats and redingotes trimmed with this precious fur, and even just collars and boas have always been in high esteem.
American sable
The American sable lives in dark coniferous forests and used to be widespread in the USA and Canada, but was severely exterminated and only Lately began to restore its numbers. It is well adapted to climbing trees, where it catches squirrels in their nests at night. It also feeds on rabbits, chipmunks, partridges and other small animals, and sometimes on carrion.
Sable white
White sable - a rare representative family of sables, which not every hunter who wants to catch this miracle manages to meet. The skin of an ordinary sable at September 2008 auctions was traded in the range from 500 to 800 dollars, which is many times more expensive than the skins of mink, arctic fox and other animals. Therefore, it is better not to know how much a fur coat made from white sable will cost.
Seal and fur seal
In the modern fur business, one of the most popular and beautiful is seal fur. The fur of this animal may differ in hair length, texture and color depending on the breed and habitat. Seal fur is an exclusive product. Seal skin is characterized by special strength, beautiful texture and excellent moisture resistance. The technology for making seal skin is very complex, so there are only a few companies in the world specializing in this type of fur.
Furo, ferret, or domestic ferret
Furo, according to the modern views of all naturalists, is a variety of the common ferret, which has changed as a result of captivity and domestication. In zoology and fur farming, only albino ferrets are called furo. Furo has been known since ancient times, but only in a tamed state. Aristotle mentions it under the name "ictis", and Pliny - under the name "wyverra".
Honorik
Honoriki are similar in appearance to mink: a black shiny awn evenly covers a thick brown underfur; in color and fur they resemble dark sable. The fact that Honoriks belong to ferrets is revealed by their ears, which are much larger than those of a mink and bordered by a light stripe. Adult Honoriki are larger than their parents. They inherit the ability to swim from minks, and from ferrets they inherit the ability to intensively dig holes.
ferret
Ferret fur is attractive due to its noble restraint. According to the strictest canons, there is solemnity and majestic simplicity in it. It is modern because it is marked by permanence classic style fashion. This is one of the warmest furs, along with arctic fox, raccoon, wolf, deer - in a word, this is the most suitable fur for cold Russian winters. At the same time, this fur is distinguished by its lightness, unlike the wolf and raccoon, which are much heavier.
Chinchilla
Many people know that a chinchilla is a cat, that it is a rabbit - mainly rabbit breeders, and that this is a small fluffy animal with valuable fur - only wealthy fashionistas who have long dreamed of a chinchilla coat. Light, weightless, like fluff, and thick chinchilla fur is good for small and large shapes. But chinchilla clothes are clearly not for every day. She is luxurious, no doubt, but her fur is not very wearable. In addition, chinchilla is one of the three most expensive and prestigious furs.
The British chinchilla was bred artificially by crossing a Persian cat and british cat. The animal's fur is similar to that of a chinchilla, which is where it got its name. The chinchilla has a rare and unique color and is considered one of the most expensive breeds. Chinchillas are not only British, but also other breeds, for example, Persians and Birmans. Representatives of the British royal family love unusual plush cats; today you can get such a pet anywhere in the world.
Both in private houses and in country houses, in utility rooms of personal plots, rodents such as rats and mice cause great harm. No matter how we fight them, the problem does not become less, even the growth of the population of these animals can be contained very poorly.
Sometimes it happens that, due to some circumstances, it is necessary to keep the apartment completely wild representatives weasel family. Perhaps this is a wounded or sick animal that cannot be released into the wild. Some of them are very aggressive towards people; usually caught wild animals try to scare a person or even bite. Taking care of them is not at all easy, for the reason...
Mink breeding became popular at the beginning of the 20th century, but after such a long period of domestication of these attractive animals, they still remained completely independent and with their own character. Even an animal raised by humans from an early age still avoids close attention and can even bite a person. Although there have been cases of being kept at home completely...
The chinchilla is a very beautiful and affectionate herbivore animal. She is unusually smart for an animal, interested in everything and clean. This is an unusual fur-bearing animal for us, it has very beautiful fur, the animal is very small, 3 times smaller in size than the average rabbit, when kept there will not be an unpleasant odor, it feeds exclusively on plant foods like nutria or a rabbit. During the day...
Basically, a female rabbit can reproduce within six months after birth, some breeds after eight, and some even after five years of life.
You can raise rabbits not only as a homestead, but you can also do it type of business. Due to the fact that the costs of organizing a mini-farm and the cost of feed are small, and the fertility and precocity of rabbits are quite high, this small business can be a good find for residents of private homes.
This article is dedicated to proper care decorative rabbits and will be of interest to their fans. If you have planned for the rabbit to live with you in the apartment, first you need to prepare a place for it, and accordingly, hide all the wires in the house.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 05:57 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:07 ]The giant panda, or bamboo bear, is a mammal of the Ursidae family with a peculiar black and white coat color, which has some characteristics of raccoons. The only modern species of the genus of the subfamily. Giant pandas live in the mountainous regions of central China: Sichuan and Tibet. Since the second half of the 20th century, the panda has become something of a national emblem of China. I.
Chinese name ( 熊猫 xióngmāo xiongmao) means "cat-bear". Its Western name comes from the red panda. Previously it was also called the spotted bear
The interesting thing is that there is a family of Pandas where this type Excluded. Thus, despite its Western name, big panda formally not a panda.
Appearance
The giant panda reaches 1.2-1.5 m in length and weighs from 30 to 160 kg. Unlike other bears, it has a rather long tail (up to 12 cm). The body is massive, covered with thick white fur with black spots around the eyes (“spectacles”), black ears and black paws. The short, thick hind legs have sharp claws. On the soles and at the base of each toe, bare pads are well developed, making it easier to hold the smooth bamboo stems.
Giant pandas have unusual front feet, with a "thumb" and five normal toes; The “thumb” is actually a modified sesamoid bone of the wrist and allows you to handle even thin bamboo shoots. Biologist Stephen Jay Gould devoted an article to the origin of this “sixth finger”, which became the title of a collection of his works on evolution.
Lifestyle
Despite the fact that pandas are carnivorous animals, their diet is overwhelmingly vegetarian. In fact, they only eat bamboo. An adult panda eats up to 30 kg of bamboo and shoots per day. To protect against bamboo slivers, the esophagus and stomach are lined with a thick layer of elastic mucous tissue. To feed pandas, the zoo has created a special “cookie” made from pressed bamboo fibers. Strictly speaking, like many animals, pandas are omnivores. Thus, pandas are known to occasionally eat eggs, small birds, animals and some insects, as well as carrion along with their bamboo diet. Animal food for pandas is an essential source of protein. If in any place all the bamboo dies after flowering, then the pandas living there are in danger of dying from starvation.
The range of males is wider than that of females, which select high-altitude forests on steep slopes that provide better shelter for giving birth in bamboo thickets. In summer, pandas climb to altitudes of up to 4,000 meters to avoid high temperatures.
Digital clock and date
Chipmunk.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 04:04 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:18 ]Chipmunks are a genus of rodents from the squirrel family. Chipmunks include 25 species, most of which live in North America, with the exception of one Eurasian species - the Asian, or Siberian, chipmunk
Spreading
Chipmunks are distributed throughout almost all of North America from the Arctic Circle to central Mexico. The Eastern American chipmunk forms a separate subgenus, which is found in the east of the continent.23 species from the subgenus live in western North America. The Siberian chipmunk is found from northern Europe all the way to the Korean Peninsula and northern China, as well as on the island of Hokkaido. In Central Europe, wild chipmunks have taken root after escaping from their breeding farms.
The main habitat of chipmunks is forested areas. The Eastern American chipmunk inhabits deciduous forests New England, the Siberian chipmunk - the taiga, and the little chipmunk - the subarctic coniferous forests of Canada. Some species have adapted to open areas covered with shrubs.
Chipmunk's home
The chipmunk, like the squirrel, is a tree dweller. True, he does not necessarily need tall old trees; sometimes he is content with thickets of bird cherry, birch or willow. It never lives in open areas and in clean tall forests without an undergrowth of young growth and shrubs. The chipmunk especially loves places littered with windbreaks and dead wood, where it is convenient to hide. And the animal makes one more requirement for its place of residence: there must be water nearby. Therefore, most chipmunks are found in the thickets along the banks of rivers and streams.
Finding a chipmunk's hole without the help of a dog is very difficult, since the entrance to it is always carefully hidden among thick windfall, under roots, under the trunk of a fallen tree, under a stone, or in a rotten stump. The chipmunk carries away the dug up soil in its cheek pouches and throws it away from the hole. In the hole, which is sometimes quite long - up to three meters, in addition to the chamber for the nest, there are always one or two large storerooms for supplies and one or two dead ends - “latrines”. The living “room” is lined with dry grass and leaves. The owners sleep in it at night and spend their hibernation time. Little chipmunks are born and grow here.
Lifestyle
Chipmunk ) V national park Dead Horse, (USA)
During the winter, chipmunks do not fall asleep as deeply as, for example, gophers or marmots. They wake up in the middle of winter, eat a little, and then go back to sleep. Of course, it is impossible to trace what a chipmunk does in winter in his hole buried under the snow. But if a chipmunk sleeps without waking until spring, why does he need to make large reserves for the winter? If he didn’t wake up in the winter, where would the droppings come from in his “latrines” in the spring? And by the fall, the chipmunk does not store enough fat to survive the entire winter without food. However, the final proof that the chipmunk wakes up several times during the winter came from observations of the animal in captivity. During hibernation, the chipmunk lies curled up in a ball, hiding its muzzle on its abdomen and bending its long, fluffy, very mobile tail over its head.
In spring, animals emerge from their burrows into different time, depending on what the weather is like. Those whose burrows are located on a sunny slope and are released from the snow earlier appear earlier than others. If after warm weather it suddenly gets colder again, these harbingers of spring hide back in their holes and wait there for real spring days. Chipmunks really love warm and clear weather, and at the beginning of spring, when it is still quite cool, they are completely different from what we are used to seeing them on good summer days. Usually cheerful, playful and active, the animals spend only two to three hours a day in the air in the first days of spring and do not move far from their burrows, but, climbing tree branches, eat buds somewhere nearby. Lethargic and inactive, at this time they like to climb to the tops of still bare trees and sit quietly there for hours, basking in the rays of the spring sun.
If there are still reserves in the pantries, now the animals are destroying them. At the same time, you can sometimes observe how they take out overwintered and probably slightly damp food from the minks and lay them out in the sun to dry. IN cloudy weather in early spring Chipmunks do not come out of their holes at all. But then the sun begins to warm more strongly, the snow quickly melts, and the real warm weather. And the animals are unrecognizable! Energy, mobility, and liveliness return to them. For whole days they rush along the ground and along the branches of trees and bushes, chasing each other, fighting among themselves. With extreme ease and dexterity they climb tall trees, jump from branch to branch and even from tree to tree, all the while emitting their characteristic “tsking” and whistling. They often descend to the ground and drink greedily.
On hot days summer days chipmunks come out of their burrows very early, even before sunrise, but still when it is already light enough, and go about their business before sunrise extreme heat. In the evening, when the heat subsides, they come out again and remain on the surface until sunset. In a dense, shady forest, where there is no particular heat, the animals do not hide all day. Chipmunks hate rain and usually do not show up at all in rainy weather. Only where it rains constantly in the summer do they inevitably have to put up with it, since otherwise they would often have to go hungry. In such places, even in the rain you can often see a chipmunk jumping from branch to branch in search of food. Chipmunks always unmistakably anticipate the rain they hate in advance. Where there are many chipmunks, they are used as a barometer for completely accurate prediction weather. A few hours before the rain, chipmunks make very special sounds, not at all similar to their usual “chuckling” and whistling, and they make these sounds while sitting on their hind legs on a stump or fallen tree.
In autumn, when the days become cool and morning frosts begin, chipmunks appear only after the sun warms the ground. But during the day during this period of the year they do not hide in holes until sunset. The colder it gets, the less time the chipmunk spends outside the hole. Finally he stops coming out completely.
Cubs
Living alone, chipmunks protect their territory and burrow from the invasion of relatives. Only for the sake of mating, males and females seek contact with each other at certain times of the year. The first cubs are born in May; the second litter is usually born in August. The Asian chipmunk, unlike the eastern chipmunk, usually has one litter of 4-10 cubs (only in the south of its range there are 2 litters). After a gestation of thirty days, four or five cubs are born. Already in the first year of life they become sexually mature. While chipmunks in the wild typically do not survive more than three years, in captivity they can reach up to ten years of age.
Most often five chipmunks are born, but sometimes more - up to ten. They live hopelessly in the nest for quite a long time and begin to appear outside only when they are quite grown up. At this time, you can see the babies looking for food among the grass near the hole, eating berries and seeds of various plants. Little by little they begin to scatter in different directions, but at first they do not go far. The mother closely monitors them, remaining near the hole, and in case of danger, “tuts” in alarm. At this signal, the young, with an answering squeak, rush towards her from all sides and hide in a hole. It happens that a chipmunk chooses a hollow for itself for temporary housing, especially in early spring, when it does not yet have to worry about either children or preparing for a harsh winter.
Stories about animals.
Marmot.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 02:46 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:53 ]There are a total of 15 species of marmots on earth. The ancestral home of marmots is America, and all marmots had a common ancestor. While many animals moved from Asia to America in ancient times, marmots from America moved to Asia. In Eurasia, most researchers identify 8 species of marmots. Different species of marmots have isolated themselves in different geographical zones and differ from each other in behavioral characteristics, but have retained external similarities and the need to hibernate. All marmots are herbivores, live in burrows, have warm fur, and almost all live in colonies. There are lowland marmots (baibaks) and mountain marmots, living in the harsh conditions of the alpine mountains, where summer warmth comes late and winter comes early.
Ulyanovsk hunters and environmentalists have been arguing over whether or not to ban the hunting of the marmot for many years. In 2012, conservationists once again sounded the alarm: there are fewer and fewer animals. In the Ulyanovsk region, where the marmot is not yet included in the Red Book, shooting enthusiasts come from other regions - almost all neighbors (except Tatarstan) have banned hunting for it. Unfortunately, the number of poachers spitting on quotas was increasing. And licensed shooting, according to environmentalists, only aggravated the situation: more and more often they found empty, abandoned holes.
The gopher is a common object of sport hunting.
The gopher is a representative of the squirrel family, a medium-sized rodent and a pest of farmland, which is why it sometimes becomes the object of sport hunting, in particular varmint hunting. Targeted shooting is due to the fact that the ground squirrel carries dangerous diseases of grain plants and is the causative agent of severe infections - brucellosis, tularemia, plague.
Pesek.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 02:37 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:50 ]An arctic fox comes to you. Bugotak
Common) arctic fox, or polar fox- a predatory mammal of the canine family, sole representative genus of arctic foxes ( Alopex). A small predatory animal resembling a fox.
Body length is 50-75 cm, tail - 25-30 cm, height at the withers - 20-30 cm. The average body weight of a male is 3.5 kg, maximum - up to 9 kg, females - 3 kg. Unlike the fox, the arctic fox's body is squat, its muzzle is shortened; the ears are rounded and protrude slightly from the winter coat (this protects them from frostbite).
The only representative of the canine family that is characterized by pronounced seasonal color dimorphism. Based on color, they distinguish between the ordinary white fox (pure white in winter, dirty brown in summer) and the blue fox. The latter has a dark winter outfit: from sand and light coffee to dark gray with a bluish tint and even brown with silver. Blue foxes are found in all populations, but on the mainland they are rare, and on some islands, on the contrary, they predominate.
Spring molting of arctic foxes, as a rule, begins in March-April and lasts up to 4 months. Autumn - from September to December. Arctic foxes have their best fur in January-February.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The typical habitats of the arctic fox are open tundras with hilly terrain. On sandy hills and coastal terraces, it digs holes, complex underground labyrinths with many (up to 60-80) entrances. The Arctic fox digs a hole in soft soil surrounded by stones (they protect the entrance from digging by large predators) to the level of permafrost, deepening it as the soil thaws. The burrows are never more than half a kilometer from the water. There are few suitable places for building holes in the tundra, so arctic foxes use them for years, sometimes for 15-20 years in a row, and with intervals for hundreds and even thousands of years, so that some hills are completely dug up. Less commonly, Arctic foxes settle among scattered stones or in piles of driftwood on the coast. In winter, the arctic fox is often content with a simple den in the snow.
The Arctic fox is omnivorous; its food includes about 125 species of animals and 25 species of plants. However, it is based on small rodents, especially lemmings, as well as birds. It feeds on both beached and caught fish, as well as plant foods: berries (blueberries, cloudberries), herbs, algae (seaweed). Does not refuse carrion. On the coast, the arctic fox often accompanies polar bears, and gets part of the meat of killed seals. Finally, he eats animals caught in traps, making no exception even for other arctic foxes. In summer, it stores excess food in the den for the winter.
The Arctic fox has well-developed hearing and sense of smell; somewhat weaker - vision. The voice is a yapping bark.
The Arctic fox is an important commercial animal and is a source of valuable fur; in the north it forms the basis of the fur trade. The skins of the blue fox, which is also the subject of cage breeding, are especially valued. On islands surrounded by an ice-free sea, semi-free breeding has been established - arctic foxes live freely and, when given a signal, resort to special traps to feed. Farms for breeding arctic foxes are available in the northern and middle latitudes of America, Europe and Asia.
The Arctic fox animal is an object of fur harvesting
The arctic fox (or as it is also called the polar fox) is part of the canine family. The Arctic fox is a predatory animal and the only representative of the genus of the same name. Very valuable in fur harvesting. Preference is given to the most valuable species - for example, the blue fox, whose fur has a noble shade and is therefore in high demand on the market.
Weasel.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 02:15 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:39 ]The weasel is trying to steal the duck!
Today, fur products from the domestic manufacturer OJSC Melkovskoe Animal Farm are extremely popular both in Russia and abroad. Unique fur coats and short fur coats, vests, hats and more are presented in the “Old Melkovo” salons in Moscow, Klin and Tver. On August 23, the Melkovskoye Animal Farm sums up the results of the year
They wore “Old Melkovo” furs for the film “The Snow Maiden” Liza Boyarskaya, Kristina Asmus, Nonna Grishaeva and others. Several years ago, the pop artist Philip Kirkorov became the owner of a mink coat made from Konakovo mink. In turn, real fashionistas closely follow each new collection and look forward to the presentation in the capital's salons. Especially this year, when none other than the famous Russian designer Andrey Ponomarev.
THE HEART OF THE VILLAGE
But behind great victories and achievements there are always simple people, who, with dedication and love for their own work, contribute to the development of the domestic brand. It's about about the profession of a fur farmer. We went to the Melkovskoe Animal Farm OJSC to get to know these people better. Moreover, the occasion turned out to be successful - on August 23, fur farmers celebrate their professional holiday. We arrived the day before.
The animal farm is located in the rural settlement “Staroye Melkovo” in the Konakovsky district of the Tver region and for 47 years has been one of the leaders in both the supply of fur and its own production of fur products. This is, perhaps, one of the few fur farms that, having survived the difficult 1990s and bankruptcy in the 2000s, managed to survive and, importantly, preserve its brand. Today, thanks to the enterprise, people have a good, stable income, which cannot but affect the standard of living of villagers and the development of the municipality. “The heart of the village” is how the Staromelkovites nicknamed the animal husbandry.
– Today the farm has 14,000 heads of the main herd. Of these, 4,200 are female minks. This year is truly a record year for the company. And, of course, great credit for achieving this result belongs to our fur farmers, people who are in love with the profession. Many of them, even after retirement, cannot imagine themselves without work and continue to work and teach the younger generation a difficult craft. On my own behalf and on behalf of our entire team, I congratulate fur farmers on their professional holiday! - says Vyacheslav Starinov, director of OJSC “Melkovskoye Animal Farm”.
“LET’S FEED NOT THE CAGE, BUT THE BEAST”
Five teams work on the animal farm. Nadezhda Petrova- the foreman of one of them. This soulful woman (and a poetess) has been working at the company since 1979. A native Leningrader, once arriving in Staroe Melkovo, stayed here forever.
- I love mine very much hometown, but the countryside is still more. I have been working at the company for 33 years and have never regretted this choice.
– What is the secret of successful production?
– In love: for the profession, for animals. Only then will there be a result. This year we had an average of six mink pups per female. With a plan of five puppies. And we are very proud of this. The profession of a fur farmer is difficult: the animal needs to be watered, fed, the cage cleaned, and everyone’s health monitored.
– What are the responsibilities of a foreman?
– And the foreman is obliged to monitor the entire process. True, work has become easier now: feed distribution is now fully mechanized, and it is planned to install year-round automated watering. Previously, all this was done manually.
But with all this, each pet requires special attention. If the animal is not gaining weight well or, conversely, is overfed, this will ultimately affect the quality of the fur. This should not be allowed under any circumstances. “We feed not the cage, but the beast” is our main rule. After all, this is why our furs are so valued, and the products made from them are excellent.
– Does the introduction of new technologies and mechanization of production help attract personnel?
– For some reason, young specialists are reluctant to go to work in the villages. This is despite the fact that, within the framework of the regional program, 70 percent of the cost of living space is compensated by the regional budget. The rest of the amount is provided by the animal farm. And without demanding interest in return. I think this is a good option for those who dream of their own home. In addition, there is a good and stable salary. But even in this situation, there are not enough young specialists. We mainly work in dynasties. For example, I have two daughters who work here. One, like me, is a foreman. And the second is a furrier, engaged in the manufacture and sewing of mink products.
And Nadezhda Petrova hasn’t been on vacation for many years. Colleagues admit that they had a hard time getting her to go on vacation this year. So she still regularly came and kept order.
– I also often disappear here on weekends. “I don’t feel like I’m outside of work, I can’t live without it,” the female fur farmer admits with a smile.
For those who live in rural areas and keep poultry, the appearance of weasels on the farm is fraught with major troubles - it is capable of attacking not only fragile broods, but also small individuals. A particularly busy period is winter, when weasels and other mustelids settle close to human habitation.
Muskrats.
Posted Aug 21 2013, 01:54 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:19 ] The desman, or Russian desman, is a mammal of the mole family of the shrew-like order.
Lifestyle
For most of the year, the animals live in burrows with one exit each. The exit opens underwater. The main part of the passage, located above the water level, runs almost horizontally at 2.5-3.0 m and is equipped with 2-3 extensions (chambers or rings). During the flood period, the chambers are flooded, the animals leave them and then take refuge in half-flooded trees, in piles of sediment, or in shallow temporary burrows dug in non-flooded areas of the bedrock bank. At the bottom of the reservoir, between the entrances to two adjacent burrows, a trench is laid, cutting through the entire thickness of the silt to the sandy base.
In summer, muskrats live alone, in pairs or in families, and in winter, up to 12-13 animals of different sexes and ages can live in one hole. Each animal has temporarily visited burrows located at a distance of 25-30 m from one another. The muskrat swims this distance along the connecting trench during the normal period of its stay under water - in 1 minute (although it can linger in the water column for up to 3-4 minutes).
When the animal moves along the bottom trench, it gradually exhales the air collected in its lungs in the form of a string of small bubbles. Under water pressure, bubbles also emerge from the thickness of the fur. In winter, air bubbles accumulate above a trench under the lower surface of the ice and gradually freeze into it in the form of voids of various sizes. The ice above the trench becomes porous and fragile. Due to air bubbles under the ice above the bottom trench of the muskrat, conditions for better aeration are created, which attracts mollusks, leeches and fry. Apparently, the smell of musk also has an attractive effect on them, some doses of which create an odorous trail over the trench. The muskrat does not rush along the bottom of the reservoir in search of food, but moves along a system of trenches, to which its victims themselves are actively drawn together. During early floods that are life-threatening to the muskrat, the ice breaks primarily along a line with high porosity (above the trenches); Through the resulting cracks, the animals escape from flooding and certain death. During frequent winter water rises, muskrat burrows are flooded. Ice, even if it is porous, does not always create a wide crack sufficient for the animal to emerge to the surface. In a flooded hole, the muskrat dies within 5-6 minutes. In very dry years, floodplain reservoirs become shallow or dry up completely. Finding another body of water is not an easy task for a muskrat. The animal is practically blind (cannot distinguish contours), clubfoot (the long toes of its hind legs are strongly curved). On the earth's surface, the muskrat cannot move quickly and becomes a victim of predators.
Reproduction
Puberty occurs at the age of 10-11 months. During the spring flood period, muskrats forced out of their burrows unite in pairs. On quiet days of this period, they make peculiar sounds: males chirp loudly, females make gentle, melodious sounds. The rut is accompanied by fights between males. After 45-50 days of pregnancy, 1 to 5 cubs are born, blind, naked and helpless. The weight of a newborn is 2-3.3 g (almost half that of a newborn rat). The nesting chamber is located at a shallow depth, and the air temperature in it is low in the winter months. The female makes a nest of wet plants collected at the bottom of the reservoir. Returning to the hole after feeding, the female shakes off the water. The fur does not get wet, but film and drops of water, the temperature of which is close to zero, may remain on its surface. This is the situation in which tiny, naked, blind, helpless Russian muskrat cubs find themselves. Peak birth rates occur at the end of May - June and November - December. There are 2 offspring per year. If the female is disturbed, she transports the offspring to another burrow, placing them on her back. The male is present at the brood. At the age of one month, the cubs begin to feed on adult food; at 4-5 months they become independent.
White hare.
Posted Aug 20 2013, 21:47 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:28 ]Appearance
Large hare: body length of adult animals is from 44 to 65 cm, occasionally reaching 74 cm; body weight 1.6-4.5 kg. Average sizes decrease from northwest to southeast. The largest white hare lives in the tundra of Western Siberia (up to 5.5 kg), the smallest in Yakutia and the Far East (3 kg).The ears are long (7.5-10 cm), but noticeably shorter than those of the hare. The tail is usually solid white; relatively short and rounded, 5-10.8 cm long.
The paws are relatively wide; the feet, including the pads of the toes, are covered with a thick brush of hair. The load per 1 cm² of the area of the hare's soles is only 8.5-12 g, which allows it to easily move even on loose snow. (For comparison, for a fox it is 40-43 g, for a wolf - 90-103 g, and for a hound dog - 90-110 g).
There is a clearly expressed seasonal dimorphism in color: in winter the white hare is pure white, with the exception of the black tips of the ears; The color of summer fur in different parts of the range ranges from reddish-gray to slate-gray with brown streaking. The head is usually colored somewhat darker than the back; sides are lighter. The belly is white. Only in areas where there is no stable snow cover do hares not turn white for the winter. Female white hare are on average larger than males and do not differ in color. There are 48 chromosomes in the hare hare karyotype.
Shedding
The hare molts 2 times a year - in spring and autumn. Molting is tightly connected with external conditions: its start triggers the duration change daylight hours, and the air temperature determines the flow rate. Each part of the body sheds at a certain average daily temperature. Spring molt in most of the range begins in February-March and lasts 75-80 days; in the north of Eastern Siberia and Far East- in April-May and in animals that are leaking, molting sometimes drags on until December. Autumn molting occurs in the opposite direction - from the back of the body to the head.
Spreading
The mountain hare lives in the tundra, forest and partly forest-steppe zones of Northern Europe (Scandinavia, northern Poland, isolated populations in Ireland, Scotland, Wales), Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Transbaikalia, the Far East, northwestern Mongolia, northeastern China , Japan (Hokkaido Island). Acclimatized in South America (Chile and Argentina). Inhabits some Arctic islands (Novosibirsk, Vaigach, Kolguev). In the relatively recent past it was distributed much further south; a relict area of the former range has been preserved in the Swiss Alps.
In Russia, it is distributed over most of the territory, in the north up to and including the tundra zone. Southern border The range runs along the southern edges of the forest zone. It is known in fossil remains from the Upper Pleistocene deposits of the upper Don, from the region of the middle reaches of the Urals, western Transbaikalia (Mount Tologoi).
Lifestyle
In the forest zone it is almost never found in continuous forests (especially taiga) with high density of the tree stand; The most attractive forests for him are those with sparse meadows, river valleys, as well as with areas of old, overgrown burnt areas and clearings. The central regions of Russia are very favorable for hare, where coniferous forest areas are usually adjacent to deciduous and farmland. Avoids extensive open swamps.
In Eastern Siberia, it is common both in river valleys with willow thickets and in larch forests with developed undergrowth. In the forest-steppe of Western Siberia and Kazakhstan, it is common among birch tufts, reed thickets and tall, dense grass. In the mountains (Alps, Altai, Sayans) it is found from foothills to mountain tundra and char. Found everywhere near populated areas.
Normally, white hares lead a solitary, territorial lifestyle, occupying individual plots of 3-30 hectares. In most of its range it is a sedentary animal, and its movements are limited to seasonal changes in feeding grounds. Seasonal migrations to forests are typical in autumn and winter; in the spring - to open places where the first grass appears. The reasons for movements may be precipitation - in rainy years, hares leave the lowlands and move to higher ground.
In the mountains they make seasonal vertical movements. In the north of their range in summer, hares, escaping midges, migrate to floodplains or other open areas; in winter they migrate to places with low snow cover. In Yakutia, in the fall, hares descend to the floodplains of rivers, and in the spring they rise to the mountains, walking up to 10 km per day. Mass migrations are typical only for the tundra, especially when the number of hares is high.
They are mainly caused by high snow cover, which does not allow them to eat low-growing tundra vegetation. For example, in Taimyr, hares move south from September, gathering in flocks of 15-20, or even 70-80 individuals. The length of the migration route sometimes reaches hundreds of kilometers. Spring migrations are less noticeable than autumn ones.
Circadian rhythm
Mainly crepuscular and nocturnal animal. Most active in the early morning and early evening hours. Usually feeding ( fat) begins at sunset and ends at dawn, but in the summer there is not enough night time and hares feed in the morning. In the summer, hares in the tundra, escaping midges, switch to daytime feeding.
Daily fattening is observed during the rut. Usually a hare travels only 1-2 km per day, although in some areas daily migrations to feeding places reach tens of kilometers. During thaw, snowfall and rainy weather, the hare often does not go out to feed at all. On such days, energy loss is partially compensated by coprophagia (eating excrement).
The hare spends the day on the site, which he most often arranges, simply crushing the grass in secluded places. The choice of place to lay depends on the season and weather conditions. Thus, during a thaw or rainy weather, the white hare often lies down in open places in the grass, sometimes right in a plowed furrow.
Sometimes, if the hare is not disturbed, the bedding area is used repeatedly, but more often the bedding areas are new every day. In winter, during severe frosts, the hare digs holes 0.5-1.5 m long in the snow, in which it can spend the whole day and leave only when there is danger. When digging a hole, the hare compacts the snow rather than throwing it out.
In the tundra, hares in winter dig very deep holes up to 8 m long, which they use as permanent shelters. Unlike their forest counterparts, tundra whites do not leave their burrows when in danger, but hide inside. In summer, they also sometimes use earthen burrows, occupying empty burrows of arctic foxes or marmots.
From the resting place to the feeding place, hares run along the same route, especially in winter. At the same time, they trample down paths that are usually used by several animals. In winter, even a person without skis can walk along a well-trodden path. When going to bed, the hare usually moves in long jumps and confuses its tracks, making the so-called. “doubles” (returning to one’s own trail) and “sweeping” (big jumps to the side of the trail).
The hare has the best developed hearing; vision and sense of smell are weak, and a hare sometimes runs very close to a standing person, even in an open place. His only means of defense against pursuers is the ability to run quickly.
Nutrition
The white hare is a herbivorous animal with a clearly defined seasonal diet. In spring and summer it feeds on green parts of plants; in different parts of the range, giving preference to clover, dandelion, mouse pea, yarrow, goldenrod, bedstraw, sedges, and cereals. It readily feeds on oats and clover in the fields. In the north-west of its range it eats large quantities of blueberry shoots and fruits. In places it eats horsetails and mushrooms, in particular, deer truffles, which it digs out of the ground.
In autumn, as the grass dries out, hares begin to eat small branches of bushes. As it becomes established snow cover Nutrition with roughage is becoming increasingly important. In winter, the hare feeds on shoots and bark of various trees and shrubs. Almost everywhere, its diet includes various willows and aspen. Birches and larches are not eaten as readily by it, but due to their availability they serve as an important source of food, especially in the northern and eastern regions.
In the south, the hare often feeds on shoots of broad-leaved species - oak, maple, hazel. In some places, the role of rowan, bird cherry, alder, juniper, and rose hips is important in the diet. If possible, even in winter it digs up and eats herbaceous plants and berries; feeds on hay in stacks. In the mountains of the Far East, he digs out dwarf cedar cones from under the snow.
In the spring, hares accumulate on lawns with young grass in flocks of 10-30 heads and greedily eat it. At this time, they are sometimes so carried away by feeding that they lose their usual caution. Like all herbivorous animals, the white hare experiences a deficiency of mineral salts. Therefore, it periodically eats the soil and swallows small pebbles. It willingly visits salt licks, gnawing on the bones of dead animals and antlers shed by elk.
Reproduction
The white hare is a very prolific animal. In the Arctic, northern Yakutia and Chukotka, females manage to produce only 1 brood per year (in summer), but in most of the range they breed 2-3 times a year. The rut passes more or less amicably; at this time the females emit a characteristic cry ( tumbling) to attract males. Fights between males are common.The first rut takes place at the end of February - beginning of March in the south of the range; at the end of March - in the north of the European part of Russia, the north of Western Siberia, the south of Yakutia and Sakhalin; in April - early May in the north of Yakutia, Chukotka and the Arctic regions of Siberia. It usually involves 80-90% of females. Hares are born after 47-55 days, in mid-April - mid-May. In the forests at this time there is still snow in some places, so the first litter of hares is called Nastoviks.
Soon after giving birth, the hare mates for the second time. The second rut takes place in May - early June, and almost all females participate in it. Hares of the second litter are born in late June - July. In July - early August, the third rut takes place in the central and southern regions of Russia. Only 40% of females participate in it. Hares of the third litter are born at the end of August - beginning of September, and sometimes later, at the time of leaf fall, which is why they are called deciduous. Occasionally, the first hares are found as early as March, and the last ones in November, but early and late broods, as a rule, die.
The number of hares in a litter greatly depends on the habitat, age and physiological state of the female. In general, there are from 1 to 11; taiga and tundra hares have an average of 7 hares per litter, in the middle and southern parts of the range - 2-5. As a result, the annual fecundity of southern white hare is only slightly greater than that of northern hare.
The largest number of hares is always found in the second, summer litter. Lambing usually takes place on the surface of the ground, in a secluded place. Only in the Far North do female hares sometimes dig shallow holes. Hares are born 90-130 g, covered with thick fur, sighted. Already on the first day of life they are able to move independently. Hare's milk is very nutritious and fatty (12% protein and 15% fat), so the hare can feed the hares no more than once a day.
There are numerous known cases of female hares feeding other people's hares. The rabbits grow quickly and by 8-10 days they begin to feed on grass. They become independent at the age of 2 weeks. Sexual maturity is reached at 10 months.
White whites live in the wild for up to 7-17 years, although the vast majority do not live up to 5 years. Females are most fertile at the age of 2-7 years, but already from the 4th year of life, fertility begins to decline.
Hare hunting methods
The hare is a long-standing and traditional object of hunting due to its prevalence, rapidity of reproduction and territorial accessibility. During the chase, he uses many techniques that must be taken into account. Based on this, the most specific tactics and methods of hare hunting are known.
Raccoon.
Posted Aug 20 2013, 04:13 by ANATOLRUD [updated Nov 5 2014, 22:24 ]Misha the raccoon
Raccoons are a genus of predatory mammals of the raccoon family. Representatives of the genus are inhabitants of America. On the territory of Eurasia and, in particular, in Russia, the only species introduced is the striped raccoon.
The raccoon is a species of raccoon native to the swamps and jungles of Central and South America (including Trinidad and Tobago). Although raccoons of this species are called crayfish, this does not mean that they feed only on crustaceans, but tend to look for and eat crayfish only when possible.
The raccoon eats crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans, but they are omnivores and their diet also includes, for example, small amphibians, turtle eggs and fruit. With its fluffy tail and pattern on the fur around the eyes, forming a “bandit mask,” it resembles its northern relative, the common raccoon. The crab-eating raccoon looks somewhat smaller and has a more streamlined body than the common raccoon, since the former’s fur is shorter, although the body is covered with it approximately equally. The head and body measure from 41 to 60 cm in length, tail length from 20 to 42 cm, height at withers
Weasels and hori are a genus of mammals of the weasel family. In addition to the trochees themselves, this same genus of predators includes minks, weasels and stoats.
3 species, in Eurasia and North America; in Russia there are two types: forest, or dark, polecat and steppe, or light, polecat. Body length in males is up to 50 cm, in females up to 40, tail up to 18 cm. Since ancient times, the albino form of the dark ferret, furo, has been domesticated (depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Lady with an Ermine”). It was bred 2000 years ago in Southern Europe and for a long time replaced the cat; it was also used for hunting rabbits. He has a calm, non-aggressive disposition.
Adult ferrets behave in nature single image life. Predators. The forest ferret's main food source is small rodents, especially gray voles. The steppe ferret also destroys larger rodents - gophers, hamsters, and pikas. Poultry houses are attacked near housing.
Pregnancy occurs 2-3 times a year, with up to 15 ferrets in one litter. Puppies are born blind and helpless, their mother feeds them with milk, and from two weeks of age feeds them with regular food. They live on average 5-7 years when kept at home, rarely live to 8, and in the wild 3-4 years.
A hybrid of a ferret and a European mink is called a honorik.
In the 1970s, scientists (including D. Ternovsky) proved that furo is an albino form of the black ferret). For example, they have the same diploid number of chromosomes (40), and the karyotype of the light ferret studied and described for the first time has 38. The latest methods for studying the fine structure of chromosomes have convincingly confirmed the morphological identity of the karyotypes of furo and black ferret, their difference from the light one. The biological proximity of the furo to the black ferret is also confirmed by the same gestation period (40...42 days), which is shorter for the light ferret (37...38 days).
Furo can be bred either pure or by crossing with wild ones. They mate freely with the black ferret, resulting in crossbreeds called in Poland "tho-fretki"(that is, “chorefrets”).
The furo ferret was immortalized in a painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine". The animal depicted by the artist is a furo, not an ermine.
There is also a species of white polecats that live exclusively in northern Russia, Canada and Alaska. This is a northern white polecat. The white color of this ferret allows it to remain invisible in the snow, which helps it not only in protection from predators, but also in hunting. Northern white burrowing ferrets feed mainly on gray and white voles. This ferret is also called burrowing because it lives in burrows, which it digs itself during the summer months.
Domestic ferrets are black, or forest, ferrets, which are quite widespread in the forests of Europe. These are predators from the mustelid family, their relatives are weasel, ermine, sable, marten, badger, etc. Ferrets are small animals, with a body length of 35 to 60 cm and a weight of 350 g to 3.5 kg. The ferret was domesticated a very long time ago, more than two thousand years ago, most likely on the Iberian Peninsula
The weasel is a very aggressive and bloodthirsty animal, capable of committing daring robberies in the private households of the population. However, the most surprising thing is that this weasel animal, which nature has “endowed” with such characteristics, is a very tiny and cute creature - its body length reaches an average of only 16-18 centimeters.
Found mainly in mixed and taiga forests, less often in mountain forests; in the south of the range it is found in steppes and semi-deserts. It adheres to dry, well-drained areas, but near (up to 1 km) reservoirs or swampy lowlands, where the food supply is richer.
The badger lives in deep burrows, which it digs along the slopes of sandy hills, forest ravines and gullies. Animals stick to their favorite places from generation to generation; As special geochronological studies have shown, some of the badger towns are several thousand years old. Single individuals use simple burrows, with one entrance and a nesting chamber. Old badger settlements represent a complex multi-tiered underground structure with several (up to 40-50) entrance and ventilation holes and long (5-10 m) tunnels leading to 2-3 extensive nesting chambers lined with dry litter, located at a depth of up to 5 m. Nesting chambers are often located under the protection of an aquifer, which prevents rain and groundwater from seeping into them. Periodically, the holes are cleaned by badgers, and the old bedding is thrown out. Often, badger holes are occupied by other animals: foxes, raccoon dogs.
Badger leads night image life, although it can often be seen during daylight hours - in the morning before 8, in the evening - after 5-6 hours.
The badger is not aggressive towards predators and humans; it prefers to move away and hide in a hole or another place, but if it gets angry, it hits its nose and bites the offender, and then runs away.
The badger is omnivorous, but prefers plant foods. It feeds on mouse-like rodents, frogs, lizards, birds and their eggs, insects and their larvae, mollusks, earthworms, mushrooms, berries, nuts and grass. When hunting, a badger has to cover large areas, searching through fallen trees, tearing off the bark of trees and stumps in search of worms and insects. Sometimes in one hunt a badger catches 50-70 or more frogs, hundreds of insects and earthworms. However, he eats only 0.5 kg of food per day and only by autumn he eats up heavily and gains fat, which serves as a source of nutrition for him during winter sleep.
This is the only representative of the mustelids that hibernates during the winter. In the northern regions, the badger hibernates already in October-November until March-April; in the southern regions, where winters are mild and short, it is active all year round.
Social structure and reproduction
Badgers are monogamous. They form pairs in the fall, but mating and fertilization occur at different times, and therefore the duration of pregnancy, which has a long latent stage, changes. Pregnancy in a female can last from 271 days (during summer mating) to 450 days (during winter). Cubs (2-6) are born: in Europe - in December - April, in Russia - in March - April. A few days later, the females are fertilized again. The cubs begin to see the light at 35-42 days, and at 3 months of age they are already feeding on their own. In the fall, on the eve of hibernation, the broods break up.
Badger fat is an excellent remedy that has been used for many years. But getting a badger is a difficult task, because it has a violent temperament and increased aggression. This requires subtle knowledge of the matter and good
hunting dog.
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