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Pine marten (Martes martes)
Phylum —chordata
Class — mammalia
Order — carnivora
Family — mustelidae
Genus – martes
Appearance
The pine marten's fur is usually light to dark brown. It is short and coarse in the summer, growing longer and silkier during the winter. It has a cream- to yellow-coloured "bib" marking on its throat.
Its body is up to 53 cm (21 in) long, with a bushy tail of about 25 cm (10 in). Males are slightly larger than females; typically, it weighs around 1.5–1.7 kg (3.3–3.7 lb). It has excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing.
Habitat
This species is distributed through most parts of continental Eurasia from Western Europe to western Siberia, and from the northern border of coniferous forest to Asia Minor. They also inhabit the Caucasus and many of the Mediterranean islands, including Corsica, Sardinia, Elba, Sicily and the Balearic Islands. Formerly common in Great Britain, now it is found just in Ireland and northern parts of mainland Britain.
Behavior
Pine martens are mostly active at night and during dusk. Their preferred nesting sites are hollow trees, and one individual has a few nests within its home range. Abandoned bird nests, squirrel nests, and rock crevices also are used. In the winter at colder ambient temperatures, martens choose more often to rest underground. These animals are solitary, apart from when there are young in the nest, male-female bonds being transitory. Estimates for home range size vary widely between studies. Male ranges are clearly larger than those of females and overlap with those of at least one female. Homes ranges for both genders, however, usually do not overlap.
Communication occurs through scent-marking home ranges. Anal and abdominal scent glands are used for marking areas throughout their territory. In the nest, the young communicate with their mother by twittering.
Diet
Pine martens are omnivorous. They mainly eat rodents, birds, fruit and insects.
Reproduction
Pine martens are polygynandrous, with both males and females mating with multiple partners. The mating period is July and August and the gestation period is for about 8 months, including a 7-month delayed implantation period. Litters consist of 2-5 young, which are blind, deaf and without teeth when born, but have thick, short fur. Their eyes open from 34-38 days. They begin eating solid food when 36-45 days old, weaning taking place about 6 weeks after birth. When they are 7-8 weeks old, the young pine martens emerge from the den, reaching sexual maturity when 12 to 18 months old.
Pine marten has lived to 18 years in captivity, but in the wild, they can live up to 11 years. 3-4 years is more typical.
In captivity
Pine martens raised in captivity can be very tamed — freely walk around the room or yard and at the sight of the owner run to his call in the hope of getting a treat.
In captivity the pine marten is unpretentious to food: it eats liver, brains, blood, tripe, meat, but especially prefers small rodents. Liver is recommended to be given regularly throughout the year for 25-30 g per day for an adult animal. Meat, mostly, should be given in raw form. From other forages the pine marten eats pupae of insects, dry cottage cheese, meat blood meal, vegetables, nuts and berries, porridge from crushed wheat, barley or oatmeal, milk.
The daily need for food for animals in captivity in different months varied: it is given to males from 230 to 450 g, to females-from 140 to 360 g.
