American Marten (Pine)

Physical Features

The American Marten is a fairly small furry critter. Its head and body will be 13-17” long, its tail an additional 5-8” and it will only weigh1-2 lbs. Males and females differ in the darkness of their coats, males being the darker. The color of their fur is usually a dark chocolate brown but can be a tan or straw-color. The throat can vary between white, cream or orange. Fishers are similar in appearance, but are bigger, longer, and have no throat patch.

Habitat

These animals are very hard to see and even harder to hear. They will climb trees to escape and are also excellent swimmers. They prefer to travel on the ground and will even use tunnels made by other animals under the snow in winter time. Once upon a time these animals were found all throughout the Rockies, but now are mostly seen in Alaska and in pockets in north-western states.

Diet

Surprisingly, these little guys prey on animals equal to their size if not greater. They hunt Snowshoe Hares, Ruffed Grouse and different types of squirrels. When they're not feeling so ambitious they also feed on birds' eggs, nuts and berries.

Bag Limits

In Alaska there's no limit on these animals, but in the lower states where they are available they are more regulated. A common form of hunting them is by trapping. Actually, it may be the only way to hunt them because of their size and elusiveness.

Meat

Usually these animals aren't hunted for their meat. Nothing's stopping you from eating them, but you'll probably hear they taste a lot like chicken. Plus, there just isn't a lot of meat on these guys. Their draw is their fur.

Behavior

The American Marten is basically a special forces, meat eating assassin. For such small little animals they can do incredible things. Their feet are broad in proportion to their bodies so that they can walk on snow, and also help them be strong swimmers. Unless you set up bait with a camera you'll probably never see on in the wild because they can hear and smell you way before you may even think they're around. You'll never hear them unless you have on trapped. They are active both during the day and night and don't hibernate. If you can't tell, I'm a fan of these little guys. But don't be fooled by their furry features, these critters are vicious.

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