Pine marten

Scientific name: Martes martes

The pine marten has dark brown fur and a yellow to white throat patch. It is larger than mink, weasel, or stoat, and more likely to be seen in trees. Found in parts of Scotland, seems to be on the verge of extinction in England and Wales, common in Ireland.

Taxonomy chart

Animalia - Chordata - Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae - Martes - M. martes

Conservation status: UK Red List

GB: Least Concern

England: Critical

Scotland: Least Concern

Wales: Critical

Global: Least Concern

Species information

Habitat: Coniferous woodland, deciduous woodland, mixed woodland.

Description: Dark brown fur; yellow/white throat patch; long fluffy tail; about the size of a small cat.

Size: Males 51-54cm, females 46-54cm; tail length: males 26-27cm, females 18-24cm.

Weight: Males 1.5-2.2kg, females 0.9-1.5kg.

Lifespan: Maximum life expectancy is 8 years.

Origin and distribution

Pine martens are found in the Scottish Highlands and Grampians, with isolated populations in southern Scotland. In England and North Wales pine martens seem to be on the verge of extinction. They are widespread and relatively common in Ireland. Although they occur in a wide range of habitats, pine martens prefer well-wooded areas with plenty of cover.

Diet

Pine martens are generalist predators, feeding on small rodents, birds, beetles, carrion, eggs and fungi. In autumn, berries are a staple.

General ecology

Marten dens are commonly found in hollow trees or the fallen root masses of Scots pines, an association that probably earned pine martens their name; cairns and cliffs covered with scrub are frequently used as alternative den sites. Martens have territories that vary in size according to habitat and food availability. For males, these are about 10-25 square kilometres and for females about 5-15 square kilometres. They mark their territories with faeces (known as scats) deposited in places where they are conspicuous to other martens; they are frequently left along forestry trails.

Breeding

Young martens are born blind and hairless, in litters of 1-5, in early spring and stay with their mothers for about six weeks. Their eyes open at the end of May and by mid-June they begin to emerge from their den. Male martens play no direct part in rearing the young.

Conservation status

Martens and their dens are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981); martens must not be trapped, sold or disturbed except under licence from Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales or Natural England. Despite this legal protection, poisoned baits and traps, often set for hooded crows and foxes, still probably account for many marten deaths each year. Others are also shot at hen houses, and some are killed when mistaken for mink.

Until the 19th Century, pine martens were found throughout much of mainland Britain, the Isle of Wight and some of the Scottish islands. Habitat fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers and martens being killed for their fur, drastically reduced this distribution. By 1926, the main pine marten population in Britain was restricted to a small area of north-west Scotland, with small numbers in N Wales and the Lake District. They have now increased their range in Scotland, and now occur throughout the Highlands, N of the Central Belt but remains one of the rarest native mammals in Great Britain, with a total population of around 3-4,000, but Ireland probably also has as many.

Identification

Dark brown fur with yellow/white patch extending down throat and chest. Paler outlines of ears. Long fluffy tail. Moults in April and has thin dark brown coat in summer. Thicker winter coat grows in September, which is paler, medium grey brown.

Field signs: Download your printable field sign guide below.

Footprints: Tracks are very similar to other carnivores, and can easily be confused with polecat and mink as they are also five-toed and of similar size. The width is 3.5cm and the length is 4cm.

Droppings: Usually deposited singly and often contain hair and bone (carnivorous diet). Variable in size, 40-120mm in length and 12mm thick. Colour: blackish. Smell: Sweet smelling, like violets when fresh. Distinctive ‘S-shaped’ from how pine martens ‘wiggle’ when defecating.

Download resources

General fact sheet

Field sign guide

Confusion species

American mink (Neovison vison)

Dark brown coat, compared to otter’s lighter mid-brown coat. Mink is same colour all over, except for a white chin, whilst otter has a paler underside. Cylindrical, fluffy, blunt tail, not muscular and tapering like the otter. Pointed muzzle and smaller than a domestic cat. Otter has a broader muzzle and is larger than a cat.

Polecat (Mustela putorius)

Polecat has patches or a band of pale fur above the eyes and around the mouth, which creates a bandit face appearance. Pine marten face is dark brown all over. Polecat has a blackish coat (with a cream underfur that shows through) whilst pine marten is dark brown with a cream/yellow bib down the throat and chest. Polecat’s ears are smaller and less conspicuous than those of pine marten.