THE PINE-MARTEN 



(Mustela martes) 



THE marten, or pine-marten, as it is commonly termed in order to distinguish it 

 from its continental relative the beech-marten {Mustela foind), is one of those 

 species which are on the verge of disappearing from England and Wales. 

 In the midland and south-eastern counties of England the species appears to have 

 become scarce during the first half of the last century, and in most of these it was 

 killed before i860, although isolated instances of its occurrence in Hertfordshire, 

 Surrey, and Sussex have been recorded since that date. In Lincolnshire, Norfolk, 

 and Suffolk it survived, however, until the 'eighties ; and there have been recent 

 occurrences in Leicestershire. The Lake District and the western side of north 

 and central Wales are at present the strongholds of the species ; and the isolated 

 occurrences in other parts of the country appear to be largely due to its wandering 

 habits. 



In the wilder districts of Scotland, wherever there is sufficient forest, 

 martens are still far from uncommon ; and they are comparatively abundant in 

 parts of Scandinavia, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Russia. Among the 

 characteristics of the species, the most easily recognisable is the yellow or orange 

 area on the throat ; this part being white in the beech-marten. That these two 

 animals are distinct species, and not merely local races of a single one, seems to be 

 demonstrated by their occurrence in the same districts. How far eastwards the 

 range of the marten extends does not appear to be ascertained. In Siberia the 

 species is, however, represented by the closely allied sable {M. zibellina), which in 

 turn gives place in North America to the American marten (M. americand). All 

 three might perhaps, however, be regarded as geographical races of one and the 

 same species. Martens are essentially forest-animals, which prefer evergreen trees, 

 and are especially partial to woods where dead tree-trunks lie rotting on the ground 

 or form natural bridges from one stem to another. Here they are as active as 

 squirrels, and chase one another in the same sportive manner. Much of their prey 

 is, however, taken on the ground, and they are deadly foes to hares, rabbits, 

 pheasants, and partridges, as well as to small birds of all kinds. They are also 

 reported to eat beech-mast, and if this be the case, berries may also very probably 

 form a portion of their diet. 



The persistency with which a marten will follow the trail of a hare or a rabbit, 

 even in deep snow, is a character the species possesses in common with the weasel 

 tribe generally ; and if it fail to pounce upon the unsuspecting victim in the first 

 few springs, it will settle down to the chase as steadily as a beagle or a harrier. 



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