As in many mustelids, reproduction in pine martens is tied closely to the seasonality of their temperate habitats, specifically to the increase of daylight in the spring.
Author: Noelle M. Brooks
Visual Artist | Commissions Available: noelle@noellembrooks.com
Pine Marten
Pine martens are nocturnal, mostly active during the night and at dusk.
Pine Marten
In Scotland, pine martens are habitat generalists, rather than habitat specialists, and frequent many habitat types such as forest plantations, coarse grassland, and grass moorlands.
February 2019: Pine Marten
Pine Marten
The pine marten has a rich brown fur coat that is thick and silky in the winter and short and coarse in the summer, after an annual molt in the spring.
Pine Marten
Pine martens have no known negative effects on humans and have never been known as a pest as they avoid human settlements.
Pine Marten
The pine marten's medium-size substantially varies geographically and males outweigh females by 12-30%.
Pine Marten
Although the home range size of the pine marten is uncertain, it's clear that male ranges are larger than female ranges and that they overlap those of one or more females.
Pine Marten
In the wild, pine martens may mate in their first summer at 14 months of age, but in captivity most males don't breed until 27 months old.
Pine Marten
In highly seasonal habitats, the size of the pine marten's home range changes seasonally, shrinking up to 54% during the colder seasons as martens cover less distance at night.
Pine Marten
Pine martens are skillful treetop hunters and adept climbers with many physical adaptations, such as a long tail and powerful forelimbs, fit for their arboreal, acrobatic lifestyle.
Free-For-All: Tasmanian Devil
Sarah K. Wilson Art utilized an array of highly saturated colors and patterns to create a vivid, eye-catching composition. The variety of techniques used and textures developed created provocative imagery that draws one in.
Tasmanian Devil
At one time, Tasmanian devils were in danger of extinction due to persecution by settlers and destruction of forest habitat, but populations have since stabilized due to protective laws.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils love water and are very good swimmers and will wade, splash about, sit, and lie down in water to stay cool.
Tasmanian Devil
Both males and female Tasmanian devils den in hollow logs, caves, or burrows, and make nests of bark, grass, and leaves, which they inhabit throughout the day.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils have massive heads with well-developed jaw muscles and heavy molar teeth adapted for crushing bones and tearing through thick muscle and skin.
Tasmanian Devil
Although Tasmanian devils are not territorial, they stay within relatively small home ranges and can travel up to 16km a night in search of food.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils typically acquire the Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) during the bite-filled breeding season as this transferrable cancer is passed through contact.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils most often live to five-years-old in the wild, but they can live up to seven or eight years.
Tasmanian Devil
As in many dasyurids, Tasmanian devils store their fat in their tails.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils are considered nuisance animals and have been considered livestock predators, although these scavengers take most of their large prey in the form of carrion.
Tasmanian Devil Trivia
Do you think you know the Tasmanian devil? Test your knowledge of Tasmanian devil FaunaFacts with this trivia quiz!
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils have a stocky, thick-set, squat build with a brownish, black pelage and white markings on the rump and chest.
Tasmanian Devil
Male Tasmanian devils compete for access to breeding females and temporarily subdue females while mating.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils produce a strong odor when under stress, but when calm and relaxed they are not smelly.
Tasmanian Devil
The greatest recent threat to Tasmanian devils is Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) as populations have declined up to 80% due to the contagious cancer.
Tasmanian Devil
Unlike many other dasyurids, the Tasmanian devil's marsupial pouch is completely closed when breeding.
Tasmanian Devil
Adult Tasmanian devils have few natural predators such as eagles, owls, and spotted-tailed quolls, although Thylacines (Thylacinus cynocephalus) may have preyed on them historically.
Tasmanian Devil
The body size of the Tasmanian devil varies considerably with diet, habitat, and age, and females tend to be slightly smaller than males.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils are famous for their threatening gape or yawn, but this display is performed more from fear and uncertainty than from aggression.
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is an "Endangered" species due to food availability, competition with other devils and quolls, loss of habitat, persecution, vehicle strike, and Devil Facial Tumor Disease.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils are usually solitary and not territorial, but may interact aggressively over food and follow a hierarchy in captivity.
Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian devils are plagued by Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), and are one of only seven species in the world that can contract a contagious cancer.