STONE MARTEN

Physical characteristics and distribution

Body length: females: 40 – 44 cm, males: 45 – 50 cm
Weight: females: 1.2 – 2 kg, males: 1.5 – 2.4 kg
Life expectancy: 10 years
Distribution: Europe, Asia
Habitat: meadows, mountains
Species: not endangered

Appearance

The stone marten has an elongated, slender, yet strong body. His short, stocky legs end in small, firm feet; the soles of the feet are hairless. The neck of the stone marten is short. The head has a triangular shape and is provided with a pointed muzzle, large, dark eyes and round ears. The nose mirror is colored in a light pink. The stone marten has a shaggy tail, which can be up to 30 inches long. The rough coat is gray to chocolate brown. At the throat of the stone marten has a white spot, which can extend to the front legs.

Reproduction and development

Stone martens mate between June and August. When mating act, the male bites the neck of the female. The sexual act takes up to 40 minutes. A female mates with several males. After about seven months of dormancy, the female is pregnant for a month and brings two to five young to the world in the spring. In females that live in very warm areas, the dormancy can also be omitted. They give birth to their boys after only a few weeks. There is no fixed reproduction time with the spotted hyenas, so you can find young animals throughout the year. The gestation period is about 110 days; usually a litter contains only two animals. At birth, the little ones are already relatively well developed. Their eyes are already open, they have teeth and weigh one to 1.5 kilograms, but they are still uniformly colored black. The typical spots develop after about two months. For about a year, they are nursed almost exclusively by the mother, only about nine months old, they go hunting for the first time and start to eat meat. After two to three years they become sexually mature. The newborns are born naked and blind and are completely helpless. Only after a month do they open their eyes. They are nursed by the mother for two months. During this time they remain exclusively in the protected building of the mother. Afterwards, the boys accompany the female in search of food. In autumn, they become self-employed and leave the mother, but live in the same area for some time. At the age of one to two years, the young animals become sexually mature.

Lifestyle and behavior

The stone marten is nocturnal. During the day he sleeps in sheltered hiding places. This can be cairns and abandoned buildings of other animals, but also stables or attics. The stone marten cushions its nest with feathers, moss and leaves. He is very clean and puts in his nest a separate toilet and a pantry. At night he goes hunting. Although the stone marten can climb very well, he prefers to stay on the ground. Stone martens are loners. In their grazing areas they do not tolerate other stone martens. Only during the mating season do they seek contact with conspecifics. The stone marten is called a culture follower because he has lived close to humans for a long time – mainly because he has a large supply of food there.

Sensory abilities

The sense of smell of the stone marten is excellent. He can track food even under a thick layer of snow. The sense of sight is also well formed, even if the stone marten is unlikely to see any colors. Also the hearing is well developed and plays an important role in the foraging.

Feeding

When choosing food, the stone marten is not very demanding. He is a nimble and skilled hunter and feeds mainly on mice and other small mammals, but also insects and birds are on his menu. If the food supply is sparse, the stone marten also uses vegetable food in the form of fruit or the like. Stone martens that live near people also go hunting in chicken pens and dovecotes.

Hunting style, equipment and countries

Stone martens are common in Europe and Asia and can also be hunted in most countries. The most promising type of hunting is the trap hunt or the Ansitz am Luderplatz. Stone martens are shot with shot gun or the small caliber.

Hunting trip Countries

There are no targeted hunting trips on martens but can be incidentally co-hunted such as in the capercaille hunt in Sweden

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