The Pine Marten has a pointed face, and a bushy tail. There tail helps them keep there balance. Boy martens are larger than girl martens. They are as big as a house cat. Martens are between 19-27 inches long counting there tail, which is 5-9 inches long. They weigh about 1-3 pounds. Pine martens are brown with brighter underparts, and dark brown legs. They have small round ears and sharp teeth for eating meat.
The Pine Marten likes to live in the northern climates, such as Utah. They also live in Canada. They like to live in old over grown forests. They like to live there because there is plenty of dead trees to find food and to live in. These old overgrown forests make shade and it always stays dark and damp. This environment is perfect for small animals.
Pine Martens spend a lot of time searching for rodents on the ground. Martens would like to eat red-backed voles. They also eat mice, birds, flying squirrels, reptiles, and rabbits. Martens can eat honey, berries, worms, eggs, and conifer seeds, too. I guess Martens just eat what they see!
Martens are fast, strong, and balanced. They jump from tree to tree looking for flying squirrels. Martens have lots of energy. Martens also look on the ground, poking there heads into holes, logs, and between rocks. Sometimes they follow there prey, like a cat, or jump on them from above.
Martens have special ways of keeping warm in the winter. They stay under the snow which keeps the heat in there body, which keeps them warm and away from the cold. They look for hollow places in the logs and trees, to find mice and other small animals. They even have fur on the bottom of there feet! They are awake and energized all year long, even in the winter!
Martens do not live in groups. They like to live alone. When 2 adults meet each other they show there teeth and growl. They live in places between 5-15 square miles. When there is a lot of small animals they live in smaller places. But when stronger and fierce animals live where they live, they need a bigger place to live.
Martens give birth to there babies in March-April. They usually have 2-5 babies. The mother finds a hollow tree that once had animals living in it. The mother takes care of her babies for the first 6 weeks of there lives.
Adult Martens start mating when they are 1-2 years old. They mate in the middle of summer time. The babies are born 8 months later. This 8 month thing is important because this allows the babies to be born in the spring. There is lots of food and warmth in the spring for these baby Martens.
Martens once were endangered animals. They were hunted for there warm and beautiful fur. There fur was popular in the 1700-1800. The hunting still goes on today but there are a couple of laws to protect Pine Martens.
Martens have some enemies not counting humans. But humans hurt Martens, not counting there fur. Humans cut down trees for paper and for cities. Martens live in these trees and this leaves Martens homeless. They not only hurt Martens but this scares away the Martens prey. They will have nothing to eat. Humans are definitely enemies for Martens.
