The Pine Marten - Martes martes
The pine marten is a member of the weasel family. It is around the size of a domestic cat. Its body can be up to twenty inches in length, and its bushy tail up to ten inches long. The males are slightly larger than the females. An average sized pine marten weighs around three and a half pounds.
There are tours run by Speyside Wildlife that take wildlife-watchers to evening watches in its dedicated pine marten hide on the Rothiemurchus estate, near Aviemore.
The purpose-built facility is heated and has comfortable chairs. Visitors may enter the hide at around 8pm in summer, or 6pm in winter, and have the chance to see pine martens feeding on the nuts and peanut butter left out for them.
Pine Marten Fun Fact - The pine marten is related the badger, polecat, weasel, stoat, otter and mink. It has a fondness for peanut butter.
The pine marten's habitat is normally forests and woods where there is ample cover. Their dens are commonly found in hollow trees or the fallen root masses of Scots pines. They lead arboreal lifestyles, and love climbing and running on tree branches.
Arboreal means relating to or living in trees. Though the pine marten is superb tree climber, it is equally adept on the ground and can run speedily.
The pine marten is a crepuscular animal. A crepuscular animal is one that is active mostly around dawn and dusk. The small, rounded and highly sensitive ears are well-adapted to compensate for the lack of full light whilst they are hunting.
Their diet usually consists of birds, small mammals such as mice, insects, carrion and frogs. They will also eat berries, honey and bird's eggs.
The pine marten has a life-span of around eight to ten years in the wild, though they may live up to twenty years in captivity. The gestation period
is thirty days, and the female gives birth to between one and five blind and hairless young in spring. They will stay with their mothers for around six weeks. The male takes no part in the rearing. The young will open their
eyes by the end of May and emerge from the den by the middle of June.
The pine marten is occasionally preyed upon by golden eagles, and less
often by red foxes. Their most formidable enemy by far is the human
being. The loss of habitat, persecution by gamekeepers, illegal poisoning,
and shooting have caused a significant disturbance to the pine marten population. The pine marten is now offered full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and the Environmental Protection Act of 1990.
