Appearance

The European pine marten is covered with a coat of dark brown fur. This is thick over winter and thins out over the summer. Over winter the pads of their feet will also be covered in fur. The tail is long and bushy. Under the throat is a “bib” of white to creamy orange fur. On the belly the fur has a greyish tint.

An average European pine marten measures between 45 and 58cm (17 to 22in) with the tail adding between 16 and 28cm (6.3 and 11cm) to their length. Due to a large geographical range they can vary greatly in size. Males are often 10-30% larger than females. They weigh between 0.9 and 2kg (2-4.5lbs) on average.

Diet

This species is an omnivore. The majority of their diet consists of small mammals and birds which is supplemented with fruits, insects, carrion, eggs and fungi. Berries become a large part of their diet throughout autumn.

Range

European pine martens inhabit a large area across most of mainland Europe and into the West of Asia including Russia. In the United Kingdom they are mostly restricted to Scotland with some small populations present in England.

Habitat

Well suited to a life amongst the trees European pine martens mostly live in forests. They will also venture in to the grasslands adjacent to these areas. Their territory is marked by depositing their feces around the perimeter. The size of their territory is decided by the amount of available food in these areas. They will make a den in hollow trees or fallen root masses most often with shrub covered cliffs also used on occasion.