Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidea
Genus: Martes
Species: M. foina
The beech marten, also called the stone marten or house marten, has a very big range in habitat that includes Europe and Asia. Depending on where they live, there may be small differences in how the martens look or what they eat. This doesn’t make them different species; it just means that they have adapted to where they live. These categories of slightly different groups of animals are often called subspecies. One of the places they are most common is in the country of Italy.
Here are some facts about the beech marten:
• They live in forests or in rocky places.
• Some martens will make homes in buildings.
• They are a dark or medium brown with a lighter underbelly fur called a throat patch.
• They grow between 16.5 and 19 inches long.
• They weigh between 3.25 and 5.5 pounds.
• They live for about 10 years.
• They live in dens, hollows in trees or rock crevices.
• They are solitary (they don’t live in groups).
• They are omnivores and often eat fruit, smaller animals and eggs.
• A mother marten will give birth to 2-4 pups at a time.
• When first born, the martens have no hair and are blind.
• Their natural predators are red foxes, hawks and owls.
• They are nocturnal.
• They hunt and communicate by smell but also have great eyesight for hunting in the dark.
• Some people keep them as pets.
• In captivity, they can live for 18 years.
• They have a bushy tail.
• They are great climbers and very flexible.
Martens are a great example of adaptability. This means being able to change to fit your surroundings. Naturally, martens live in forests, but if the forests are removed and cities are built, the marten can still survive. They just make their dens in new places. Marten dens have been found in attics, barns and even in abandoned cars. Some people think that these animals are pests because they have been seen raiding chicken coops and rabbit hutches and sometimes damaging the areas where they make their dens. There is one great thing that the marten does for the area where it lives, though. They help to keep the number of rats and mice low.
