| |
| |
|
|
| |
Average
weight
1-3 pounds
Favorite
food
Squirrels
Voles
Mice
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The scene that unfolded before our eyes was one which I
will never forget. We stopped for a short break, and I noticed a pine
martin about 20 feet up a big black
spruce tree. Soon after I spotted the Martin, it detected a red squirrel
a few trees away. The martin jumped from tree to tree chasing the squirrel.
After a few seconds the martin and the squirrel were out of view. I do
not know if the pine martin caught the squirrel, but I do know that I
have never seen an animal move through the trees that fast!
|
Pine martens are very agile and can climb high up in the tree tops.
Male martens are larger than females. They are about the same length
as a house cat. These cute animals are between 19-27 inches long,
including their tail which is from 5-9 inches long. They only weigh
between 1-3 pounds. Pine martens are brown with paler underparts
and dark brown legs. They have small rounded ears and sharp teeth
for eating meat.
|
Click on photo to enlarge
|
Martens have special ways of keeping warm during the winter. They burrow
into the snow which insulates them from the cold. Martens look for hollows
in the snow around tree stumps and shrubs to find mice and other small
mammals. They even have fur on the soles of their feet to keep them warm
and to create a snowshoe effect when they walk!
Pine martens spend a lot of time searching the forest floor for rodents.
Martens prefer to eat Red-Backed Voles. They will also eat other species
of voles, mice, birds, flying squirrels, reptiles, and rabbits. Martens
will eat honey, insects, conifer seeds, worms, eggs, and even berries.
Come to think of it, there's not much that a pine martin won't eat.
Martens are fast, strong, and agile. They have lots of energy
and leap
from tree to tree zig-zagging to find flying squirrels. They also forage
along the ground poking their heads into crevices in rock piles, hollow
logs and holes in search of prey. Sometimes they stalk their prey like
a cat, and other times they pounce at them from above.
 |
The Wilderness Classroom Organization
4605 Grand Ave.
Western Springs, IL 60558
(630) 204-0420
info@wildernessclassroom.com
All content copyright (c) The Wilderness Classroom, 2002. All
rights reserved.
| Home
|Contact Us | Privacy
Policy | Terms of Use
|
|
|
|
