Wednesday 15 May
Guest Blog: Join Our SOS! Campaign to Help Polar Bears with Polar Bears International
Pine marten (Martes martes)
LEASTCONCERN
Pine marten fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Pine marten description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Mustelidae |
| Genus | Martes (1) |
The elusive, generally nocturnal pine marten (Martes martes) (3) has chestnut-brown to dark brown fur with a creamy-yellow bib. The tail is long and fluffy (2).
- French
- MARTRE DES PINS.
- Spanish
- Marta.
- Size
- Weight of males: 1.5 - 2.2 kg (2)
- Head-body length (males): 51-54 cm (2)
- Head-body length (females): 46-54 cm (2)
- Weight
- Weight of females 0.9 - 1.5 kg (2)
More »
Top
Related species
Pine marten biology
Pine martens are mainly active at night and dusk (5). They have a broad diet that varies throughout the year depending on the availability of certain food types. Small rodents, birds, beetles, carrion and eggs are all taken, and berries are very important in the autumn (2). They are adept climbers, but tend to hunt on the ground.
Pine martens are territorial, and mark their range with faeces (scats) deposited in prominent locations (2). Mating occurs between July and August, however implantation of the fertilised egg is delayed and the young are produced in early spring of the next year (6). One to five deaf, blind, helpless young are produced (2) (4); they begin to emerge from the den by the middle of June (2) and will be fully independent around 6 months after their birth (7).
TopPine marten range
Found throughout most of central and northern Europe (4). In the UK, the pine marten is restricted to the Scottish Highlands and Grampian, and a few populations occur in southern Scotland. The pine marten is extinct throughout most of England and Wales (2) with a few scattered records in the north and in Wales (5).
More »
Species with a similar range
|
You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Pine marten habitat
This species prefers well-wooded areas. The pine marten often makes its den in hollow trees or on scrub covered cliffs (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Pine marten status
The pine marten is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (8), and is listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and Schedule 3 of The Conservation Regulations 1994 (1).
Pine marten threats
Pine martens were once found throughout most of Britain. Habitat loss leading to fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers to protect game species and hunting for fur have all contributed to the decline of the species (2). Current threats include human disturbance and illegal poisoning intended to kill foxes and crows, and shooting due to martens attacking hens or being mistaken for mink (2).
TopPine marten conservation
Pine martens and their dens are afforded full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and the Environmental Protection Act, 1990 (7). Conservation management in areas where the pine marten persists may help the species. Potential measures include planting corridors of trees between patches of suitable habitat, and providing cover for shelter (2).Reintroductions to England have been proposed, but feasibility studies, funding and more precise details of the requirements of this species are required before any reintroductions occur (2) (5).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
|
|
There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Find out more
For more information on the pine marten, see:
-
BBC Wildlife Finder:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/European_Pine_Marten -
Vincent Wildlife Trust:
http://www.vwt.org.uk/index.php
Authentication
Information authenticated by Dr Pat Morris.
TopReferences
-
UNEP-WCMC (Jan 2002)
http://quin.unep-wcmc.org/ -
Mammal Society fact sheet (Jan 2002):
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/pine_marten.shtml - Macdonald, D. (2001) The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
-
Macdonald, DW and Tattersall, FT (2001): Britain's Mammals - the Challengefor Conservation. Published by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit,Oxford University. Available via
http://www.wildcru.org -
Animal Diversity pine marten fact sheet (Jan 2002)
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/martes/m._martes$narrative.html - P. Morris (2002) Personal Communication.
-
BBC Wild Facts (Jan 2002)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/197.shtml -
IUCN Red List, (February, 2011)
http://www.iucnredlist.org
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Monday 13 May
Sunday 12 May
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Pine marten in pounce position
© lauriecampbell.com
Laurie Campbell Photography
Hestia
Paxton
Berwick-upon-Tweed
TD15 1TE
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1289 386 736
Fax: +44 (0) 1289 386 746
info@lauriecampbell.com
http://www.lauriecampbell.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.