The American marten (Martes americana) is considered a member of the mustelidae family and is a carnivorous mammal. It differs from pine martens living in Europe in having larger paws and a lighter muzzle.
Description of the American marten
The American marten has a tail of good length, fluffy, it accounts for a third of the total length of the animal’s entire body, which ranges from 54 to 71 cm in males and from 49 to 60 cm in females. The weight of martens also varies from 0.5 to 1.5 kg.
Appearance
The similarity of this species of marten with others is easy to see: the body of the American marten is elongated, slender, the fur of a healthy individual is thick, sparkling, and brown. Also, animals of this species may have light brown or dark red fur. The neck below (the shirtfront) is yellowish, but the paws and tail are darker. The ears are small and rounded.
This is interesting! The nose protrudes sharply, pointed, and the narrow mouth contains 38 sharp teeth. Two dark stripes cross the muzzle vertically to the eyes.
The animal's claws are semi-extended and sharp - to move well along branches and tree trunks, but are crooked in shape. Large feet help you move around snow cover, and the paws are short and have five toes. There is a noticeable similarity between American martens and c - the body structure allows you to see common features. Females are lighter and smaller in size than males.
Lifestyle, behavior
The American marten is a dexterous but cautious hunter, timid, avoids humans, does not like open spaces. Escaping from large predators in trees, where it can quickly and deftly climb in case of danger. These martens are most active in the early morning hours, in the evening and at night. You can see these animals in splendid isolation almost all year round, with the exception of the mating season. Representatives of both sexes have their own territories, which they zealously defend from the encroachments of other representatives of their species.
Martens mark their “kingdom” with the help of secretions secreted from glands located on the abdomen and in the area of the anus, leaving their scent marks on tree branches, stumps and other hills. Males can cover a territory of 8 km2, females - 2.5 km2. The area of these “possessions” is influenced by the size of the individual, as well as the presence of necessary food, fallen trees, and other voids that are important for the residence of martens and the living creatures included in its diet.
This is interesting! It is noteworthy that the areas of males and females can intersect and partially overlap each other, but the territories of same-sex martens do not coincide with each other, since each male or female zealously defends their “lands” from the encroachments of another representative of their sex.
At the same time, the male can also make attempts to seize someone else’s territory in order to increase his hunting grounds. The marten makes a tour of its “possessions” approximately every decade.
Martens do not have a permanent home, but they can have more than a dozen shelters on their territory in the voids of fallen trees, hollows, burrows - in them martens can hide from bad weather or hide if necessary. Also interesting is the fact that these animals can lead both a sedentary and nomadic lifestyle, and most of the young animals roam, having just embarked on an independent path in life, probably to search for territories unoccupied by other individuals or in search of areas rich in food .
Since American martens are hermits, they hunt alone, quickly moving along branches at night or twilight and, when overtaking their potential food, they attack from behind in the back of the head, biting the spine. Martens have a well-developed hunting instinct, and moving along tree branches helps these predators go unnoticed by small animals searching for their food on the ground.
Range, habitats
These nimble carnivorous mammals They live mainly in old mixed and dark coniferous forests of Canada, Alaska, and the northern part of the USA. The habitat of American martens can be old coniferous forests of spruce, pine, and other coniferous trees, as well as mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees, in which white pine, spruce, birch, maple and fir are found. These old forests attract martens with the abundance of fallen trees in which they prefer to roost. Currently, there is a tendency for American martens to populate young and mixed-age forests.
American marten diet
These predatory animals are provided by nature good qualities, helping them in hunting, since meat occupies a predominant place in their diet. Thus, at night, martens can successfully grab squirrels in nests, and in winter they have the opportunity to dig long tunnels under the snow in search of mouse-like rodents. Rabbits, chipmunks, partridges, frogs, other amphibians and reptiles, as well as fish and insects also serve as an excellent treat for them. Carrion and even fruits and vegetables can be included in the diet of these animals if there is insufficient animal food in the area of residence. Martens will not refuse the eggs of birds, as well as their chicks, mushrooms, seeds and honey.
This is interesting! It should be said that these animals have an excellent appetite, absorbing about 150 g of food per day, but they can get by with less.
But it takes them a lot of effort to get the desired amount of food - martens can cover a distance of over 25 kilometers per day, making numerous jumps along tree branches and on the ground. And if the prey of martens is mainly active in the daytime, then in this case the marten can also change its mode and also hunt during the day. The marten can hide large prey in reserve.
Natural enemies
Natural enemies of the American marten can be larger predatory animals and birds. However great danger Man creates these animals for life due to his influence on nature and hunting for fur.
Martens (Martes) are a genus of predatory animals from the mustelidae family, known for their graceful, flexible build, feline grace and valuable fur.
In addition to the martens themselves, the genus includes kharza, ilka and sable, a total of 8 species of animals, which are united by common biological characteristics and habits. Differences between predators are expressed in body size, fur color, some individual characteristics and habitats.
What do martens look like?
Martens are medium-sized animals, with a very elongated, squat body and short legs, and males are a third larger than females. The paws of predators end in five free fingers armed with strong and sharp claws. Interesting feature Martens have fine motor skills, developed like a 3-year-old child.
The marten's tail is long and fluffy and not only serves as decoration for the animal, but also provides balance when jumping and climbing trees.
Martens have a small, neat head with a sharp muzzle and short, triangular ears with rounded tips. Like all predators, martens have sharp teeth, perfectly adapted for hunting, and when defending themselves, a marten can seriously injure even an adult.
The fur of different species of martens differs markedly, but the summer coat is usually short and coarse, and the winter coat is long and silky. Martens are colored very differently, although the predominant tones are various variations of brown.
Habitat and lifestyle
Martens are widespread in temperate climatic zone Eurasia and North America, some species prefer dense forests, others stick to more open landscapes and even settle near human habitation.
These animals lead a semi-arboreal and terrestrial lifestyle, hunt mainly at night and at dawn, and during the day they rest in their lairs, built in tree hollows and abandoned nests of birds of prey. Being territorial animals, martens mark individual areas with the secretion of the anal glands and carefully protect them from attacks by individuals of their own sex.
Nutrition and reproduction
Martens are omnivores, and the basis of their diet consists of small rodents (squirrels, voles, rats), birds and their eggs. Sometimes martens eat reptiles, frogs and insects, and will not refuse carrion. In summer, predators happily eat berries, fruits and nuts.
The hunting method of martens is quite cruel and effective: the animal breaks the cervical vertebrae of the victim, immediately curls its tongue into a tube and drinks blood from live prey.
Martens reach reproductive age at the age of 2-3 years, mating season occurs in spring and summer. Due to delayed embryo implantation, pregnancy lasts from 8 to 12 months, with the exception of the Harza, which carries offspring for 120 days. 3-4 cubs are born, the offspring mature in about a month, at the age of 2 months they begin to wean themselves off mother’s milk, and at 4 months the cubs are already leading an independent life.
IN natural conditions few martens live to be 10 years old, but in captivity, with proper care, they live up to 16 years.
These predators are also called wallflowers, due to the round yellowish spot located on the throat, and the overall fur color is brown or chestnut. The average size of adult individuals is about 45-58 cm with a body weight from 800 g to 1.8 kg.
The pine marten prefers to live in trees much more than its relatives, and its range extends through dense forests throughout Europe and the western regions of Asia. Pine martens are excellent acrobats, deftly climbing and jumping on tree branches, while their feet are able to turn 180 degrees.
This marten received its second name - white-haired marten due to white spot on the neck, which, unlike its forest relative, is divided, may reach the front legs or be completely absent. The fur of predators is greyish-brown in color, rough and of no particular commercial value, but they are often exterminated as pests that carry chickens and rabbits, and also chew through hoses and car wiring.
Stone martens are smaller, but heavier than their forest relatives, their average height is 40-55 cm, and their body weight reaches 1.1-2.3 kg. Other distinctive features of the animals are a light nose and hairless feet.
The range of the stone marten covers a significant territory of Eurasia, and for the purpose of fur hunting, these animals were specially brought to the North American state of Wisconsin. The stone marten can often be found on rocky landscapes and other open areas with sparse vegetation. These predators are the only ones of their kind that are not afraid of humans, so they often set up their shelters in attics, sheds and stables.
Representatives of the species resemble pine martens in appearance, but are distinguished by a more varied overall fur color: from light yellow to reddish and brown. As a rule, the neck of predators is lighter, and the legs and tail are dark brown.
These martens grow up to 32 - 45 cm, with a body weight of 470 g to 1.3 kg. A distinctive feature of the species are 2 black longitudinal stripes extending from the eyes.
Predators prefer to settle in dense forest areas, their range extends across North America, and the highest population density is observed in Alaska and Canada.
These predators are also called yellow-breasted or Ussuri martens, and they are the largest and most variegated representatives of the genus. Adults grow up to 55 - 80 cm in length and weigh up to 5.7 kg. The fur on the back is golden brown, the head and muzzle are black, the chin is white, the neck and chest are bright yellow, and the paws and tail are dark brown.
Kharza is widespread in Korea, China, India, Pakistan and many other Asian countries. On the territory of Russia it is found in the Amur region and Primorye; animals were also brought to Crimea, Dagestan, Adygea, where they successfully took root. Favorite places Kharza's habitat is taiga forests, where the animal is considered one of the most dangerous predators, and primarily prefers musk deer as prey.
This marten is colored in the most bizarre way: its top part the body is dark brown, and the chest and throat are a bright orange-yellow color. The size of adult individuals ranges from 55 to 70 cm and weighs 2-2.5 kg.
Nilgiri harza is an endemic, little-studied species found only in South India. These animals are known to be active during the day and prefer to live in trees.
Other names for predators are fishing marten or pecan, although these animals practically do not eat fish. These animals are quite large and grow in length from 75 to 120 cm and weigh 2-5 kg. Their long, dense, but rough fur is dark brown in color with a silvery tint on the head.
Ilka lives in the coniferous forests of North America and, more than other martens, prefers to walk on the ground, so she often builds her shelters in holes or directly in the snow.
The average size of this animal is only 56 cm, however, the sable is one of the most powerful and dexterous taiga predators leading a terrestrial lifestyle. The color of sable can be very diverse: from dark brown and almost black, to fawn and light sand.
Photo: young sable. 
Sable in the Krasnoyarsk Pillars Nature Reserve. The sable prefers to settle in difficult forests with a predominance of Siberian pine and is found throughout the taiga from the Urals to the Pacific coast and on the island of Hokkaido.
Photo of a sable. 
Sable on a branch. In the eastern regions of the Urals lives a hybrid of sable and marten, called kidus, which has inherited the features of both parents.
This medium-sized predator grows up to 54 cm in length and weighs from 1 to 1.6 kg. Japanese sable has yellowish-brown or brown fur with a light marking on the back of the head.
Predators are found both in forests and in more open landscapes, and their range extends across the southern Japanese islands Tsushima, Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu.
Despite the hunting of these animals, the state of the populations of all species of martens today does not cause concern, although some rare subspecies are under state protection.
In North America, natural areas are located in unusual ways. In the north of the continent, according to the law of zonation, they are extended in stripes from west to east, and in the central and southern parts the natural zones are located in meridional direction. This distribution of natural zones is a feature of North America, which is determined mainly by its topography and prevailing winds.
In the zone arctic deserts covered with snow and ice, behind short summer Here and there, sparse vegetation of mosses and lichens forms on the rocky surface.
The tundra zone occupies north coast mainland and adjacent islands. Tundra is the name given to treeless areas. subarctic belt, covered with moss-lichen and shrub vegetation on poor tundra-marsh soils. These soils are formed in harsh climates and permafrost. The natural complexes of the tundra of North America have much in common with the complexes of the tundra of Eurasia. In addition to mosses and lichens, sedges grow in the tundra, and in elevated areas there are dwarf willows and birches, and there are many berry bushes here. Tundra plants provide food for many animals. WITH ice age the musk ox has been preserved here - a large herbivore with a thick and long hair protecting him from the cold. The musk ox is small in number and is under protection. Herds of caribou reindeer feed on lichen pastures. Among the predators, arctic foxes and wolves live in the tundra. Many birds nest on the islands and coast, on numerous lakes. Walruses and seals off the coast, caribou in the tundra attract many hunters. Excessive hunting causes great harm fauna of the tundra.
To the south, the tundra turns into open forest - forest-tundra, which gives way to taiga. Taiga is a zone temperate zone, whose vegetation is dominated by coniferous trees with an admixture of small-leaved species. Soils in the taiga are formed under conditions of cold, snowy winters and damp, cool summers. Plant remains decompose slowly in such conditions, and little humus is formed. Under its thin layer lies a whitish layer, from which the humus has been washed out. The color of this layer is similar to the color of ash, and therefore such soils are called podzolic.
Black and white spruce, balsam fir, American larch, and various types of pines grow in the American taiga. Predators: black bear, Canadian lynx, American marten, skunk; herbivores: moose, elk deer. Wood bison are preserved in national parks.
Zone mixed forests has a transitional character from taiga to deciduous forests. This is how a European traveler describes the nature of these forests: “It’s amazing big variety species... I can distinguish more than ten species of deciduous trees and several coniferous ones. A wonderful company had gathered: oaks, hazel, beeches, aspens, ash, linden, birch, spruce, fir, pine and some other species unknown to me. All of them are related to our European trees, and yet they are somewhat different - in various little things, in the pattern of foliage, but above all in the pulse of life - somehow stronger, more joyful, more lush.”
The soils under mixed and broad-leaved forests are gray forest and brown forest. They contain more humus than podzolic soils taiga It was their fertility that led to the clearing of these forests across most of the continent, to their replacement with artificial plantings of trees. Only small forests remain in the Appalachians.
Rice. 88. In the Mexican Highlands
The deciduous forests contain beeches, dozens of species of oaks, lindens, maples, deciduous magnolias, chestnuts and walnuts. Wild apple, cherry and pear trees form the undergrowth.
The forest zone on the slopes of the Cordillera differs from the forest zone on the plains. The species of plants and animals are different here. For example, in subtropical montane forests on the coast Pacific Ocean Sequoias grow - coniferous trees more than 100 m high, with a diameter of up to 9 m.
The steppe zone stretches from north to south in the center of the continent from the Canadian taiga to Gulf of Mexico. Steppes are treeless spaces of temperate and subtropical zones, covered with herbaceous vegetation on chernozem and chestnut soils. An abundance of heat creates here favorable conditions for the growth of grasses, among which cereals predominate (bearded vulture, bison grass, fescue). The transitional zone between the forests and steppes of North America is called prairie. They are everywhere altered by man - plowed or turned into pastures for livestock. The development of the prairies also influenced their animal world. Bison have almost disappeared, coyotes have decreased ( steppe wolves) and foxes.
The interior plateaus of the Cordillera contain temperate deserts; The main plants here are black wormwood and quinoa. IN subtropical deserts Cacti grow in the Mexican highlands.
Changes in nature under the influence of human activity. Economic activity has affected all components of nature, and since they are closely interconnected, they change as a whole natural complexes. Changes in nature are especially great in the United States. Mainly soils, vegetation and fauna were affected. Cities, roads, strips of land along gas pipelines, power lines, and around airfields are taking up more and more space.
Scientists have concluded that active influence human contact with nature leads to an increase in frequency natural Disasters. These include dust storms, floods, forest fires.
The countries of North America have adopted laws aimed at protecting and restoring nature. The state of individual components of nature is being recorded, destroyed complexes are being restored (forests are being planted, lakes are being cleared of pollution, etc.). In order to protect nature, nature reserves and several dozen national parks. Millions of city dwellers flock to these wonderful corners of nature every year. The influx of tourists has created the task of creating new reserves to save them from extinction. rare species plants and animals.
North America is home to one of the most famous, the world's first national Yellowstone Park, founded in 1872. It is located in the Cordillera and is famous for its hot springs, geysers, and petrified trees.
- What is unique about the location of natural areas on the mainland?
- Find in the text definitions of the concepts “tundra”, “taiga”, “steppe”, name their essential features.
- Name representatives of the animal world of each natural zone. Use the text and the atlas map to answer.
- Find it on the atlas map National parks and nature reserves in North America. In what natural areas are they located?
American martens are carnivorous mammals, members of the mustelidae family. Outwardly they resemble, differing only in large feet and a light muzzle. For life, American martens choose old coniferous and mixed forests of Canada, Alaska, and Northern England. Due to the destruction of forests and hunting, the number of the species has recently decreased significantly.
The American marten resembles other martens: it has a long, slender body, covered with shiny brown fur. The throat is yellowish, the tail is long and bushy. This animal has semi-extended claws, which help it climb trees, and rather large feet, which is necessary for moving across snowy lands.
The fur of the American marten is soft and thick, ranging in color from pale yellow to reddish and dark brown. The neck is pale yellow, the tail and limbs are dark brown. The muzzle is decorated with two black lines that run vertically from the eyes. The tail reaches a third of the total length of the animal. In males, the latter is 36-45 cm (tail length 15-23 cm). The weight of adult individuals ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 kg. Females are smaller in size, their body length is 32-40 cm, their tail is 13-20 cm long, and their weight is 280-850 g.
The diet of the American marten consists mainly of meat. Its prey includes voles, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, partridges and other small birds. In addition, martens hunt frogs, fish, insects, and obtain bird eggs, mushrooms, seeds and honey. In winter, when regular food is not enough, the marten also feeds on carrion and plants. 
The American marten is a native of North America. Its habitat begins at the northern forest edge of Arctic Alaska and Canada and continues into northern New Mexico. From east to west, it covers an area from Newfoundland to California. In Canada and Alaska, the range of this species is wide and continuous. In the western United States, the American marten is found only in certain areas, in mountain ranges.
The animal prefers conifers and mixed forests, most often – dark coniferous forests: old coniferous forests of spruce, pine and other trees.
Sexual dimorphism in the American marten is manifested in the fact that females of this species are inferior in size to males by 5-7 cm and by 0.5 kg in weight. Otherwise, there are no pronounced differences in this species.
The American marten is active early in the morning and at night. In addition to the breeding season, it leads single image life. Males guard their territories of about 8 km2, which can overlap the territories of females (area about 2.5 km2). Animals regularly walk around their area, at least once a week. The area of an individual plot depends on the animal’s body size, the presence of fallen trees, and the abundance and suitability of the food supply. American martens of the same sex show high aggression towards each other, especially if they encounter a stranger on their territory. American martens live both sedentary and migratory. The latter is more typical for young individuals. As they age, large males occupy the largest areas, trying to select them so that they overlap as much as possible with the territory of females.
The marten is very agile. She easily jumps along the branches of trees, while marking the path of movement with the smell of her glands. It hunts alone, killing prey with a bite to the back of the head, after which it destroys its spinal cord and breaks its cervical vertebrae. In winter, the marten digs tunnels under the snow in which it looks for mouse-like rodents.
To communicate with each other, American martens use characteristic sounds that sound like screams and giggles.
Reproduction process of American marten and others similar species endowed with many general features. This species is characterized by a solitary lifestyle; males and females unite in pairs only during mating season, which lasts two months in the summer (starts around July and ends at the end of August).
The American marten, along with other members of the mustelid family, is endowed with large abdominal and anal scent glands. Animals leave their secretions on logs and stones, especially actively during the breeding season.
The female and male find each other using these marks, which emit a strong odor and were left by the anal glands. After mating, fertilized eggs do not develop immediately, but remain dormant in the uterus for about 6-7 months. Pregnancy in a female American marten lasts about 267 days. Of these, pregnancy itself, which begins after the latent period, lasts only two months. Cubs are born in early spring, that is, in the season that is most favorable for their growth and development. Only females are responsible for the offspring; males do not take part in their upbringing and rearing.
The next year after mating, the female gives birth to 3-4 babies, sometimes there are more, up to 7. Childbirth occurs in March-April. Before this, the females manage to build nests for themselves in logs, hollow trees and other voids. The inside of the nest is lined with grass or other materials of plant origin.
Cubs are born deaf and blind, and their weight barely reaches 25-30 g. The ears open on the 26th day of life, and after about 10 days their eyes open. Milk feeding of the cubs lasts approximately 2 months. At 3-4 months, young American martens hunt in full force together and on an equal basis with adult individuals. Sexual maturity in females occurs at 15-24 months, but only after reaching the age of 3 years does it become possible reproduction. The lifespan of the American marten ranges from 10 to 15 years.
Due to the fact that the American marten is a very curious animal, it often finds itself in unpleasant situations, namely, in traps and snares. This species has no natural enemies. Young individuals are attacked by owls and large carnivores, for example, wolves. The threat to the American marten is human hunting and forest destruction - natural environment her habitat. Therefore, recently the species has been taken under protection in many countries, and hunting is prohibited.
- The American marten is hunted by humans for the purpose of obtaining its fur. In addition, large-scale logging has negatively affected the population. Today the species is considered rare, and measures are being taken to restore the population in US nature reserves. In addition, the American marten can be tamed and kept at home, which can serve as a guarantee for the preservation of the species in the future.
- The American marten is the most agile climber of all members of the mustelid family. This animal is capable of covering a distance of 25 km in one day. At the same time, it manages to make about 30,000 jumps, each 60 cm long.
Martens are small mammals, representatives of the large family of mustelids (or martens). These small animals are widespread in many areas. Where the marten lives, there are forests. But not all representatives of this family can be found in Russian open spaces.
Of the martens that live in America, the American marten itself and the ilka (fishing marten) are known. In wet tropical jungle Nilgiri harza is found in southern India, and Japanese sable is found in the forests of Japan and Korea.
There are four species of martens in Russia - pine and stone martens, kharza and sable. The most common of them is considered to be forest.
Let's dwell on it. Let's talk about where the marten lives, in what natural area.
Description
The marten is a small graceful animal, similar in size to an ordinary cat. It has a characteristic triangular small muzzle, protruding rounded ears, strong broad paws with sharp claws that help it move through the trees. The pine marten has a characteristic spot on the chest and neck yellow color. Often this spot can take on the most bizarre shape. For this difference, the pine marten received a second name - yellow-hearted marten (or yellow-bellied marten).
The marten's body is small in length and is hardly more than 60 cm, while the animal has quite a long tail, which he uses as a balancer when jumping from tree to tree. The length of these flights-jumps can be about 4 meters (for the harza - up to 8 meters).
The marten has beautiful fur of different shades - from fawn to brown. In winter, the marten's fur coat is darker and thicker, and in summer, during the molting process, it becomes lighter and shorter. In the light, the animal has small black eyes that glow with reddish lights in the dark.
Marten habitat
This animal was extremely widespread from the coldest regions of Siberia to the mountains of Scotland and Ireland. To the south, its range even extended into the Transcaucasian and Mediterranean regions.
Where does the marten live in Russia today? The pine marten is found in forests with strong tall trees up to Ural mountains, as well as in Siberia and the Caucasus. Occasionally it can be found in city parks. In the steppes with forest belts Western Siberia The habitats of the pine marten intersect with the habitats of another marten - the sable.
The marten prefers the upper layers of both lowland and mountain forests. Where the marten lives, there are many coniferous trees, there are both fallen trunks and young forest, as well as edges and clearings. In monolithic rocky areas, where there is little vegetation and no sources, the marten cannot be found.
Animal habits
Most often, martens live alone. Males live in areas of about two and a half hectares, females occupy smaller territories. These animals do not create permanent homes and shelters; they form pairs only during the breeding season.
Lead night look life. Having had its fill, during daylight hours the animal rests in old nests or hollows, preferring not to go down to the ground. The pine marten does not hibernate, but if cold weather sets in, it stores supplies in its shelter and waits out the bad weather. Can change the location of housing, moving from one to another.
The marten is an excellent hunter. Has excellent vision, smell and hearing. The marten, wandering in search of prey, can “master” vast territories; it deftly climbs trees, makes jumps, often grabbing prey on the fly, and easily makes its way along branches through the crown of trees. But the marten swims poorly, doing this only in extreme cases and reluctantly.
Like any predator, the marten is a cautious creature, but does not feel fear of humans. Sometimes, while hunting squirrels, it can penetrate into urban park areas. But the pine marten still tries not to live in close proximity to humans.
The lifespan of mustelids is about ten years in conditions wildlife.
What does a marten eat?
The marten is not particularly picky in its choice of food; its diet consists of rodents, birds, their eggs, as well as amphibians and insects, including grasshoppers. Hunting along the banks of reservoirs, this animal will catch fish and water rats. On occasion, he will feast on honeycombs with honey, extracting them from the hives of wild bees, as well as nuts, seeds and wild berries.
Such omnivorousness helps the marten survive when there is a “crop failure” for representatives of small fauna and there is no choice. But the Russian pine marten will still prefer to hunt squirrel, hare, hazel grouse, and wood grouse. But the taiga harza is for small deer (musk deer and roe deer).
The marten is a rather voracious animal. By raiding a chicken coop, she can strangle all the chickens, although she will only take one.
Reproduction and young
The marten's rut occurs in the second half of summer; in March, the female brings up to five (occasionally up to seven) cubs. Baby martens are blind, deaf and hairless at birth. Only after a month do they begin to see clearly, and a little earlier they acquire their first coat. Soon the young animals begin to taste the meat that the female brings to them, and after two months the first acquaintance with the outside world takes place - the martens begin to climb trees and try to hunt.
By mid-to-late summer, the female begins her next rut, and the mother abandons her puppies. Some of them leave to explore new territories, others remain in place.
Marten hunting
IN Ancient Rus' The marten was considered not just a valuable prey, its skins were used as a monetary unit and were called “kuna”. The most skilled hunters could pursue a marten for a long time as it moved away from them along the treetops. Today such hunting masters cannot be found, although in some areas of Siberia and beyond the Urals - where the marten lives - it is still considered a commercial species.
Hunting for marten, in particular sable, is subject to strict restrictions these days, since the number of all species of animals is limited in their range.
It is not advisable to hunt this animal with traps - the fur will be damaged. The best way Hunting with dogs is recognized. For example, the Evenks usually hunt sable with the help of their sled-like huskies.
Domestication of the marten
It is believed that puppies brought from the forest have difficulty taking root in captivity. Some species of mustelids are difficult to tame. Sometimes these animals require special conditions of detention. After all, this is an energetic, active animal. Where the marten likes to live, there should be trees, hidden loopholes, and hollows. A cage is not suitable for a growing animal; it needs a spacious enclosure in which all these signs of a free life will be present.
However, the marten can still be domesticated. By ensuring sufficiently comfortable maintenance in captivity, the life expectancy of the animal will double.
Other types of marten
Where the pine marten lives in Russia, you can also find other representatives of the mustelid family, namely stone marten, harza and sable.
The stone marten is similar in habits, lifestyle and diet to the forest marten, only slightly larger in size. She also has a spot on her chest, but white(hence the name - white-haired).
The peculiarity of the white-haired one is that this animal easily adapts to human proximity, without particularly suffering from it. economic activity, and can even live in attics and basements of stone houses. The white cape is considered a harmful animal because, in search of prey, it is capable of attacking small birds kept on farms and damaging wall insulation, cables and hoses.
Kharza is one of the largest mustelids. Where does this species of marten live? Kharza is found in Ussuri taiga and the Amur region (and outside Russian borders - in India, China, Pakistan, Indochina and Indonesia). This is a rather large and whimsically colored animal.
Kharza can be easily recognized by the black color of the head, muzzle and white lower jaw. The body fur of the animal is of an original golden-brown color (sometimes they even say it has an orange tint), the tail and legs are dark. On the chest - common among representatives of many mustelids yellow spot.
Kharza is considered one of the most powerful and agile predators on its territory; it has practically no natural enemies. While hunting, it causes damage to beneficial animals - musk deer, roe deer, raccoon dog, squirrel, and sable.
Unlike the marten, the marten is a social animal; it prefers to stay together and relax in families.
And of course, when talking about the marten, one cannot help but recall the owner of the most luxurious fur among the mustelids - the sable. This is one of the characteristic inhabitants of the Russian taiga - from the Urals to the Pacific coasts. The colors of sable skins vary from the darkest (and most valuable) to fawn and almost white. There is often a spot on the neck that does not extend below.
The entire economy of Siberia used to depend on the production of this fur-bearing animal. As a result, its numbers were greatly reduced, and for some time the sable was in danger of extinction. Nowadays, scientists and game managers have managed to bring the size of the sable population to an optimal level.
Like all martens, the sable is a strong and agile predator. However, unlike the pine marten, it prefers to stay closer to the ground. Rarely climbs to the tops of trees. This species of marten lives where cedar forests grow, there are dwarf trees, and along mountain rivers. Shelters are often found in low-lying tree hollows, holes under tree roots, and cracks in rock formations. It goes hunting not only at night, but also during the day.
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