Marten

The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in the family Mustelidae. Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the Northern Hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large paws with partially retractible claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on the species, and, in many cases, is valued by fur trappers.

Etymology

The Modern English "marten" comes from the Middle English "martryn", in turn borrowed from the Anglo-French "martrine" and Old French "martre" (Latin "martes"), itself from a Germanic source, cf. Old English mearþ, Old Norse mörðr, Old High German, and Yiddish מאַרדאַר mardar.

Diet

Martens are omnivorous animals; martens are related to wolverines, minks, badgers, ferrets, and weasels. Their diet consists of squirrels, mice, rabbits, birds, fish, insects, and eggs, and they will also eat fruit and nuts when these are available.

Behavior

Martens are solitary animals, meeting only to breed in late spring or early summer. Litters of up to five blind and nearly hairless kits are born in early spring. They are weaned after around two months, and leave the mother to fend for themselves at about three to four months of age. Due to their habit of seeking warm and dry places and to gnaw on soft materials, martens cause damage to soft plastic and rubber parts in cars and other parked vehicles annually costing millions of euros in Central Europe alone, thus leading to the offering of marten damage insurance, "marten-proofing", and electronic repellent devices.

Marten (disambiguation)

A marten is a mammal in the family Mustelidae. Marten, Mårten, Martén or Maarten may also refer to:

Animals

Places

Other uses

See also

Marten (name)

Marten is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname:

Given name: