Pine Martens, a threatened species….
Posted by Pete | Posted in News | Posted on 18-04-2012
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One of the little varmints that reside in our state is the Pine Marten. It is related to the minks and weasels and resides in the spruce and fir forest of the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. Their prefered habitat has lots of large fallen logs and stumps with plenty of canopy cover. They are about the size of a house cat. They are skilled predators feeding on mice, squirrels, rabbits and birds. In early spring, the female marten gives birth to 2 to 4 young , born blind and hairless. The loss of habitat and timber harvesting in the high elevation old growth forest poses the biggest problem for this species. Currently they are listed as a threatened species. I thought you might like to know something about these little fellows….Now we both know….Pete
Oh! these are the beautiful little furry animals that I use to see scurrying through the woods as I rode my bike on lonely mountain roads. I always wondered what they were called. Now I know. Thanks!
you are welcome. This was a new animal for me and I enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for the comment. Ever so often I am going to feature one of New Mexico’s endangered or threatened species on my postings. This is the first one….Pete