American marten

The marten, a member of the weasel family, is dark brown with a tawny-coloured throat. A solitary animal, it is active mostly at night. Though it is considered to be a tree-dweller, it also spends time on the ground. The marten prefers mature softwood and mixed wood forests. It tends to avoid logged areas and has greater survival and production rates in old growth forests. It eats what is available, including voles, mice, squirrels, snowshoe hares and various fruits and berries.

Distribution

The marten occurs across Canada.

Threats

• small population size
• geographic isolation of populations
• loss of habitat mostly by logging
• low survivorship
• small number of young
• accidental or illegal trapping
• human disturbance
• disease
• predation
• limited prey