---
title: "What the sources say about the Pine Marten | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Pine Marten profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Pine Marten (*Martes martes*)

> 45 claims from the Pine Marten profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Pine Marten](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/pine-marten/)

## Pine Marten. Vincent Wildlife Trust.

https://www.vwt.org.uk/species/pine-marten/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Cream-bibbed tree acrobat with ankles that rotate through 180 degrees for climbing up and down trees. | They also have sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 o , which allows them to climb up and down the trees. (note: source renders the degree symbol as '180 o') |
| Sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 degrees, letting it climb up and down trees. | They also have sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 o , which allows them to climb up and down the trees. |
| plus scrub | Habitat: Requires woodland or scrub habitat that provides cover and protection from predators such as foxes |
| recovering in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and parts of England | Today, populations are naturally expanding in number and range in Scotland and Ireland... resulting in the re-establishment of a viable marten population [in Wales]... pine martens are present in Shropshire, Hampshire (the New Forest) (note: condensed from several sentences on the VWT distribution section; also covers the Forest of Dean and Devon reintroductions cited separately) |
| Voles and other small mammals, fruit, nuts, eggs, invertebrates, birds and amphibians | Small mammals, berries and fruits, invertebrates, birds and amphibians (note: the facts-box Diet line; 'nuts' comes from the separate mesocarnivore-diet quote used for the body's diet claim) |
| about the size of a domestic cat | Pine martens are about the size of a domestic cat. |
| usually wearing dark brown fur with a cream-yellow throat patch, or bib | Pine martens usually have dark brown fur with a creamy-yellow throat patch known as a bib. |
| unique to every individual, much like a human fingerprint | Every pine marten's bib is unique — much like human fingerprints — and can help us to identify individual pine martens. |
| Females measure 46 to 54 centimetres long, not counting the tail, and weigh around 1.5 kilograms; males run larger, at 51 to 54 centimetres and about 2 kilograms. | Identification Female Male length 46-54cm length 51-54cm tail length 18-24cm tail length 26-27cm weight 1.5kg weight 2kg (note: the identification table's column order is female, then male, for each row (length, tail length, weight); tail length is a separate row, so 'length' excludes the tail) |
| Sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 degrees let it climb up and down trees | They also have sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 o , which allows them to climb up and down the trees. |
| muscular legs and long feet help it leap from branch to branch | Muscular legs and long feet help them leap from branch to branch. |
| In the wild, a pine marten is only likely to reach seven to ten years. | are only likely to make it to seven to ten years in the wild. (note: VWT's 'up to twenty years in captivity' was cut: AnAge's recorded maximum is 18.2 years (one captive animal), used in FAQ 3) |
| Meat makes up 30 to 70 percent of the diet, and the rest is fruit, nuts, eggs, invertebrates and fungi | pine martens are a medium-sized mesocarnivore whose diet consists of 30-70% meat with the rest consisting of fruits, nuts, eggs, invertebrates and fungi. |
| voles are a particularly important prey item in Britain | In Britain, voles are a particularly important prey item for martens. |
| studies in Britain and Ireland find red squirrel rarely in a marten's diet | studies in Britain and Ireland show a low occurrence of red squirrel in the diet of pine martens. |
| scientists are still not sure why or how this happens | Scientists are not sure why or how this happens and further research is needed to fully understand the dynamics between the three species. |
| they wait until they are two or three years old to start, and breed only once a year, mating in midsummer | They don't start breeding until they are two or three years old, only breed once a year... Pine martens mate in mid-summer but give birth the following spring. |
| delayed implantation, where fertilised eggs sit in the womb without attaching for around 230 days | Females have 'delayed implantation', which means that any fertilised eggs are not implanted in the uterus for around 230 days. |
| a strategy that ensures kits are born in early spring, as the weather warms and food becomes more abundant | This strategy ensures that the kits are born during early spring when the weather is becoming warmer and food is more abundant. |
| Kits are born blind and weigh about 30 grams | When born, each kit weighs around 30g. Their eyes are closed and they have a fine covering of silver hair. (note: ADW corroborates: 'young of Martes martes weigh about 30 g. They are blind, deaf and toothless') |
| a litter is usually one to three, but up to four or, rarely, five when food has been particularly abundant | usually only have one to three kits (baby pine martens) in a litter... When food has been particularly abundant, pine martens can have up to four or (rarely) five kits. |
| the young stay in the den, totally dependent on their mother, for about six or seven weeks | They will stay in the den for about six or seven weeks and are totally dependent on the mother. |
| Pine martens are thought to have been Mesolithic Britain's second most common carnivore | The pine marten was thought once to be the second most common carnivore in Britain during the Mesolithic era. |
| woodland clearance and predator control devastated them; by 1915 they were confined to just a few remote areas of Britain and Ireland and had become the second rarest carnivore there | The clearance of woodlands, together with predator control, had a devastating effect on the pine marten population and by 1915 this species was confined to just a few of the more remote areas across Britain and Ireland and had become the second rarest carnivore. |
| Full legal protection came in 1988. | The pine marten received full legal protection in 1988. |
| Between 2015 and 2017 the Vincent Wildlife Trust moved martens from Scotland to mid-Wales, and later projects reintroduced them to the Forest of Dean and Devon | VWT carried out a pine marten population reinforcement between 2015 and 2017 by translocating pine martens to mid-Wales from Scotland, resulting in the re-establishment of a viable marten population... Between 2019 and 2021, VWT worked with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to reintroduce pine martens to the Forest of Dean; and with Devon Wildlife Trust and other regional partners (2024-2025) to reintroduce martens to Devon. |
| the Red List for Britain's mammals rates it Critically Endangered in England and Wales and Least Concern in Scotland | The pine marten is classified as Critically Endangered in England and Wales by the Red List for Britain's mammals, but Least Concern in Scotland. |
| studies in Britain and Ireland find little red squirrel in the marten diet | studies in Britain and Ireland show a low occurrence of red squirrel in the diet of pine martens. |
| scientists are not sure why or how the shift happens | Scientists are not sure why or how this happens and further research is needed to fully understand the dynamics between the three species. |
| Its fur grows thick and fluffy for winter warmth, then comes in shorter and darker over the summer months. | During the winter, the pine marten's fur is thick and fluffy for warmth and their summer fur is shorter and darker during the warmer months. |
| in Ireland and Scotland, where martens are recovering, grey squirrels are decreasing and red squirrels are moving back into the woods | Research in Ireland and Scotland has shown that where pine martens are naturally recovering their former range and have established good breeding populations, grey squirrel numbers are decreasing, allowing recolonisation of woodlands by red squirrels |
| Pine martens are adaptable opportunists. | Despite being classified as carnivores, pine martens are adaptable and opportunistic |
| changing with the season and whatever is locally abundant | they change what they eat depending on the season and what is locally abundant |
| A pine marten's ankles rotate through 180 degrees, which lets it climb down trees as well as up | They also have sharp, semi-retractable claws and ankles that rotate through 180 o , which allows them to climb up and down the trees. |
| muscular legs carry it from branch to branch | Muscular legs and long feet help them leap from branch to branch. |
| tags: omnivore | pine martens are a medium-sized mesocarnivore whose diet consists of 30-70% meat with the rest consisting of fruits, nuts, eggs, invertebrates and fungi. |

## Martes martes (European pine marten). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Martes_martes/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| from western Europe to western Siberia | The European pine marten is distributed through most portions of continental Eurasia from western Europe in the west to western Siberia in the east |
| Deciduous, mixed and coniferous forest | prefer forest habitats, including deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forest |

## Martes martes. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Martes_martes

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The AnAge longevity database lists a maximum of 18.2 years, from one captive animal, and rates its sample size as small. | Maximum longevity 18.2 years (captivity) ... Sample size Small ... One captive specimen lived 18.2 years [ 0671 ]. (note: AnAge lists 'Maximum longevity' and 'Sample size: Small' as separate table fields, joined here with the Observations line) |

## Sheehy & Lawton (2014). Population crash in an invasive species following the recovery of a native predator: the case of the American grey squirrel and the European pine marten in Ireland. Biodiversity and Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0632-7

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A survey of the Irish midlands found the invasive American grey squirrel population had crashed across roughly 9,000 square kilometres of its former range, and native red squirrels were common again after an absence of up to 30 years | A distribution survey of the midlands was carried out which confirmed the grey squirrel population has crashed in approximately 9,000 km²of its former range and the red squirrel is common after an absence of up to 30 years. |
| The authors suggest pine marten abundance may be a critical factor | suggests that European pine marten abundance may be a critical factor in the American grey squirrel’s success or failure as an invasive species |
| A study in the Irish midlands found pine marten and red squirrel abundance were positively correlated across the landscape | A distribution survey of the midlands was carried out... At landscape level, pine marten and red squirrel abundance were positively correlated |
| at woodland level there was a strong negative correlation between marten and grey squirrel presence | a strong negative correlation between pine marten and grey squirrel presence at woodland level was found to exist |

## Abramov (2025). Martes martes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T12848A215857966.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t12848a215857966.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The global IUCN assessment lists the species as Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). Martes martes (Linnaeus, 1758), IUCN taxon 12848. |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). Martes martes (Linnaeus, 1758), IUCN taxon 12848. (note: stats.conservationStatus) |