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Marten
Description
The marten is a fairly small animal, about the size of a small house cat.
NWT martens are among the largest in North America and
the largest of these live in the most northern parts of their range.
Full-grown males weigh approximately 1300-1600 g, and measure about 70-80
cm, including the tail. Females are
about 75% the size and weight of the males.
The marten has many of the characteristics of the weasel family: pointed face,
rounded ears, long thin body and short legs.
The long, bushy tail is half as long as the rest of the marten's body.
Markings above the inner corners of the eyes make the face look
inquisitive or expressive. The marten is agile and quick, able to go down trees head first.
It is well adapted to northern winters, since it has warm, dense fur and
relatively large, well-furred feet which allow it to travel across soft or deep
snow. The toes have unsheathed
claws that help the marten climb but a protective pad of hair usually hides the
claw marks in the tracks.
In the NWT the marten's winter coat starts growing in mid-October.
The fur is basically brown, but varies from almost black to a
yellowish-brown colour that is darker on the legs and tail, and lighter on the
head and underparts. The throat has
an orange or yellow patch. The winter fur is warm because of the combination of stiff
glossy guard hairs that trap pockets of insulating air and fine dense under-fur.
The fur thins by March, and by mid-June the animals have their summer
colouring of gray-brown with a reddish-yellow throat patch.
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