The Marten Story - Nature Labs

Estimated Read Time: 2 minutes

Meet the Marten

Meet the Sassy Assassin – the acrobat of the northern forest – the ever-curious American Marten.

Sure, it looks cute, but like all members of the mustelid or weasel family, this omnivore packs a mighty bite. Like, a truly nasty bite.

Though the size of a well-fed urban squirrel – you know the variety I speak of – the marten is capable of taking on animals significantly larger, like snowshoe hare, and has been known to square off for its fair share of deceased moose.

Normally nocturnal, when the weather rages – and the temperature dips – just like you and me, it becomes less active. Unless there is a thousand-pound moose waiting to have its meat cached, with ne’ery an enemy in sight.

And the marten has its share of enemies. Owls, fox, lynx…well, most of its carnivorous neighbours will try to give it a run for its money. But good luck to them. The marten is fast. Like Usain Bolt fast. It’s agile. It can break into almost anything. A tree. An attic. A bear proof garbage can. Seriously, it will do anything for food. It’s claws allow it to dig tunnels and climb trees. It’s badass claws also means it descends trees like a badass, head first.

Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned it’s super power. That fluffy tail? It acts as a rudder – yes, just like the ones you find on airplanes – enabling it to jump tree-to-tree.

Hunt tree-to-tree.

It’s this super power that allows the marten to be the chief predator of the red squirrel.

It’s a predator-prey relationship that doesn’t just keep the population of each species in check, it’s one that helps sustain the entire forest ecosystem. The red squirrel – our best tree planter – seeds the forest; the marten ensures the red squirrel doesn’t over plant or over grow the forest.

Slow to reproduce, susceptible to change and once nearly wiped out by the fur trade, the marten has also proven resilient, when and where we’ve worked together to give it a chance to not just thrive, but do its part to sustain the forests it relies on; the forest we all rely on.

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