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The pine marten, also called the yellowfish, is a mammalian predator. The animal has a long fur, which has considerable value. Outwardly, the marten looks graceful and graceful, its body is oblong.
The tail of the marten is fluffy, covered with fur, rather large, approximately equal in length to the body. The tail performs not only the role of decoration, but is also very functional - using it, the marten maintains balance during jumping or moving along tree branches.
The limbs of the animal are short, at the time of winter cold they become more woolly. This allows the animal to run on ice or snow deposits without difficulty. Each of the paws ends with five fingers with curved claws that can be pulled inward half a size.
The face of the pine marten is long and wide, the animal has a strong jaw and very sharp teeth. The ears of the predator are triangular in shape, large enough relative to the muzzle. At the tip they are rounded, the edging has a yellow color.
The marten's nose is black, pointed. The eyes are darkish, at night they acquire a slightly coppery color. When you look at the photo of the animal, you can experience the most positive emotions. Outwardly, the marten looks affectionate and harmless, her look innocent. Special attention should be paid to high-quality animal fur and amazing color.
The color of the fur coat of the animal can vary from chestnut and light brown to yellowish. On the back, legs and head, the hair usually has a darker shade than on the stomach and sides. The tail at the end is most often black.
A characteristic external feature of the pine marten from other representatives of the breed is an orange shade of hair in the neck, which flows smoothly to the forelimbs. It is from here that the other name of the animal takes its name - yellow creature.
In size, the marten is comparable to an adult large cat. The body length can reach 55 centimeters, the tail is usually about 26 cm. Compared with an adult male, the female is one third less.
Habitat
Almost all Eurasian forests are densely populated by pine martens. These animals live in a spacious territory: from the Caucasus and Iran, the west of Siberia and Corsica, to the lands of Asia Minor and Sicily, to the Mediterranean islands and Sardinia.
The animal often chooses forest habitats with deciduous trees, sometimes mixed forests. Much less often they can be met in coniferous flattering terrain. In exceptional cases, pine marten can live in high mountains, but only where trees are present.
The ideal place to live for the animal are forest areas where there are trees with a hollow. The marten enters the spacious and open areas only for the purpose of hunting. The territory where the rocky landscape prevails is not suitable for the animal.
This animal does not equip a separate and permanent home. Often, the yellowfish looks for hollows, old nests, windbreaks, abandoned by squirrels, choosing places at a height of 5-6 meters. Here the marten stops in order to spend the rest in the afternoon.
After evening and night come, the graceful predator goes out in search of food, and then goes to the next resting place. However, if severe frosts come to the marten, the outlook may change. In this case, the animal lives in a dwelling for a long time, using what it has prepared in advance for food. Yellow-bellied prefers places remote from people and settlements.
The value of the animal’s hair is determined by the fact that pine marten is the most important commercial species of the marten breed. Thus, the yellow creature experiences sufficient difficulties with reproduction and survival. This is facilitated not only by a decrease in the wooded areas suitable for living in the animal, but also by an increase in the number of hunters wishing to obtain expensive fur.
Character Features
In comparison with other representatives of the genus marten, the yellowbird most favorably and reverently relates to the habitat and the hunting process directly on the trees. She does not have problems to climb high up the tree trunks. An important role in this is played by a tenacious and long tail, which the animal uses not only as a rudder, but also as a kind of parachute, which allows jumping from a height without injuries.
The marten is not at all afraid of the very tops of trees, it can easily move from branch to branch, and the maximum length of the animal’s jump can reach four meters. Even on the surface of the earth, she can also jump. In addition, the marten is an excellent swimmer, but she can enter the water in exceptional cases.
The pine marten is distinguished by agility, dexterity and speed. The animal can overcome huge distances in a short time. Many other predators will envy her keen eyesight, hearing and sense of smell, which assist her in the hunting process. The yellow creature is funny enough, cute and curious. In their own flock, the martens talk using sounds similar to growls or purrs. The cubs of these animals make sounds resembling twitter.
Most of these animals prefer to live alone, isolated from other representatives of this species. Each animal has its own personal plot. The marten delimits its territory, using special smell marks, which are obtained due to secretions of odorous secretions from the anal glands. The total area occupied by the animal can reach 5000 hectares. Typically, females have a plot that is several times smaller than males. In addition, the area of the site may decrease with the onset of the cold season.
Males are actively protecting their personal territory from other animals of this sex. In addition, in some females and males, “allotments” may intersect. Also, if two males meet outside the rut season, then usually this is not accompanied by skirmishes and showing aggression.
What does the pine marten eat?
This animal is unpretentious in food, is an omnivorous predator. The diet of the pine marten is completely and entirely determined by the time of year, the area of its habitat and the ability to find one or another food. But, nevertheless, the main component of its feed is food of animal origin. The most favorite delicacy of the pine marten is ordinary squirrels.
It often happens that a hunter manages to catch a squirrel right inside a hollow. However, if this does not happen, the marten can pursue prey for a long time, moving behind it along the branches of trees. There is also an impressive list of various small animals, for which the marten will gladly open its merciless hunt. These include ordinary snails, wild hares and hedgehogs. It is noteworthy that the predator kills its own prey, inflicting one exact bite on her neck. The animal never disdains carrion.
In the summer and autumn, the pine marten is actively engaged in replenishing its own body with necessary vitamins. She eats nuts, wild berries, fruits growing on trees, and other foods rich in trace elements. The yellowbird hides a certain amount of food obtained for the future in a captured hollow. Most of all, this animal loves to eat rowan berries or blueberries.
Shelf life and reproduction
During the summer season, the rutting season begins at the pine marten. One adult male selects one or two females for mating. It is curious that with the onset of winter, the so-called false rutting season may occur in martens. In this case, they also show anxiety, aggression and militancy, but this does not lead to the necessary mating.
Only after a little more than three weeks have passed, the babies begin to hear sounds, and by day 28 their eyes open. If a female needs hunting, she can leave offspring for a certain time. In cases where he is in danger, his mother takes them to another, fairly safe shelter.
By the age of four months, little animals that have matured can show independence and earn their own food, but for some time they stay near their own mother. The life span of the pine marten averages ten years, but in the most favorable conditions it can be up to fifteen years.
Data
The pine marten is difficult enough to breed in an artificially created environment. The most numerous groups of these animals live in zoos that are located in Germany and Austria. Also, some fans of funny predators keep them at home. However, it should be understood that it is not known how the marten will react to a person in an apartment environment. Some representatives will be affectionate and gentle, others will react indifferently, and others will begin to show a belligerent mood.
Despite its predation, some pine martens are rather fearful and timid. At the moment of fright, they undergo a seizure, which occurs with severe convulsions, in some cases, with convulsions. Then, after some time, the animal freezes. Most often, the seizure passes without a trace, but sometimes it ends with the death of the marten.
The yellow corpus can become quite dangerous not only for other animals, but also for humans. Marten is a potential peddler of rabies, parasites and worms, plague. In addition, marten raids on chicken coops periodically occur.
Other predators are on the list of enemies of this animal. These include a wolf, a lynx or an eagle owl, a fox and some birds, for example, a hawk or golden eagle. The marten can successfully hide from land predators on tall trees. It often happens that larger hunters kill the yellow animals not for food, but to eliminate a direct competitor in the food chain.
Currently, the world population of pine martens has about 200 thousand heads. It is also curious that the yellow creature can mate with representatives of the sable species. In this case, the hybrid turns out to be fruitless, it is called Kindus.
Video: marten (Martes martes)
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