Newfoundland pine marten facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newfoundland pine marten
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)
Special Concern (COSEWIC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	Martes
Species:	M. americana
Subspecies:	M. a. atrata
Trinomial name
Martes americana atrata (Bangs, 1897)

The Newfoundland pine marten (Martes americana atrata) is a special type of American marten. It lives only on the island of Newfoundland in Canada. This marten is one of only 14 kinds of land mammals naturally found on the island.

It has been protected since 1934, but its numbers are still going down. In 2001, the COSEWIC officially listed it as endangered. This marten has been separated from other martens for about 7,000 years.

Newfoundland pine martens look a lot like their relatives on the mainland. However, they are a bit bigger. They have dark brown fur and a bright orange or yellow patch on their throat. Females weigh about 772 grams, and males weigh around 1275 grams.

These martens eat both plants and animals, like small mammals, birds, insects, and fruits. You can find them in older forests on the west coast of Newfoundland and near Terra Nova National Park. A special area called the Pine Marten Study Area (PMSA) was set up in 1973 to help protect them.

Where Do Newfoundland Pine Martens Live?

The Newfoundland marten now lives in a smaller area, about 13,000 square kilometers. Much of their main home is around the Little Grand Lake area. In the past, a lot of trees were cut down without rules. This meant most of the island's forests are now younger, second-growth trees.

Newfoundland martens use many different types of forest. But they especially like old forests. An old-growth forest is one that hasn't been cut for over 80 years. These older forests are important for them to find food.

Martens prefer mature forests (61–80 years old) and very old forests (over 80 years old). These areas are key for hunting. Recent studies show that martens can use more types of forests than we first thought. This includes forests that have been affected by insects or are in the middle stages of growth.

How Much Space Do They Need?

Newfoundland martens need very large home ranges because they are bigger animals. Males need about 29.54 square kilometers, and females need about 15.19 square kilometers. These areas are much larger than what other martens need. This is because there isn't as much food available on the island.

Martens will change their behavior and home ranges to find what they need. They also tend to stay in their own areas and defend them from other martens of the same sex. The size of their home range can change each year. This depends on how much food is available. In winter, they might move around differently because of the cold weather and less food.

Why Are Old Forests Important?

Newfoundland martens depend on forests. They need overhead tree cover to stay safe from predators. They also need lots of fallen logs and large trees. These are important for resting in winter, raising their young, and finding small mammals to eat. Martens are better at catching prey in older, complex forests.

Old coniferous forests also help martens stay warm or cool enough. Tall trees provide places to rest that are not too hot or too cold. They also offer escape routes from predators. Even if there isn't much overhead cover, lots of vertical stems and fallen wood can provide safety. Martens usually avoid areas with no trees at all.

Fallen logs and other woody debris are very important. They offer cover from predators, help martens reach prey, and provide good spots for resting and dens. The structure of the forest might be more important than the types of trees or their age. Because there are fewer large predators on the island, Newfoundland martens can sometimes use areas with more prey but less cover than martens on the mainland.

In short, Newfoundland martens need the messy piles of dead wood found in old-growth forests. This allows them to get under the snow in winter to find small mammals. This food helps them survive until spring. Areas where all trees have been cut down (clearcuts) cannot provide this. It takes many decades for the right forest structure to grow. This means careful management is needed to make sure Newfoundland's forests are good homes for martens.

What Do Newfoundland Pine Martens Eat?

Newfoundland has only a few types of small mammals. Only three of these live in the marten's forest home:

• Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)
• Masked shrews (Sorex cinereus)
• Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus)

People used to think that meadow voles were the main food for Newfoundland martens. This is because meadow voles are the only small mammal naturally found in the forests where martens live. But new studies show that martens eat a wider variety of foods. In winter, their main food is snowshoe hares.

Snowshoe hares are common in younger, growing forests. Meadow voles are less common in forests. So, the martens might move around based on how many hares are available. In summer, meadow voles are the main food for martens. But in winter, snowshoe hares become much more important. One study showed that meadow voles made up 80% of their diet in summer. This dropped to 47.5% in winter, while snowshoe hares increased to 28%.

Snowshoe hares were brought to the island by humans. They are now a very important food source in winter. Winter is a hard time for martens because they need more energy. Other foods martens eat include masked shrews, red squirrels, moose and caribou carcasses, insects, birds, and berries. However, these foods make up less than 10% of their diet. In summer, after meadow voles, berries are the next most common food. This shows that Newfoundland martens are good at finding and eating whatever food is available.

Should Other Animals Be Introduced?

There was a discussion about bringing southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) to Newfoundland. The idea was to increase the amount of small mammal prey for the martens. These voles are a common food for American martens in other places.

While more prey could help the marten population grow, there are also downsides. Southern red-backed voles might compete with meadow voles. This could reduce the number of meadow voles, which are an important food for martens. Also, introducing southern red-backed voles could attract more red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Red foxes compete with martens for food and also hunt them. More foxes could mean more competition and more martens being hunted.

Newfoundland Pine Marten Life Cycle

Newfoundland martens can start having babies when they are about 15 months old. They breed once a year. The breeding season starts in early July and lasts until late July or August. During this time, martens use scent glands to mark the ground and trees. This helps bring males and females together for mating.

Young martens are born in April. A mother marten can have 1 to 5 babies in a litter. They usually make dens underground, often on steep slopes. Dens can also be in rock piles, squirrel nests, or hollow trees. When they are born, the babies are blind, deaf, and have no fur. They stop drinking milk at about 42 days old. Dens are protected from April 1 to June 30. It is thought that martens on the island have fewer babies. This is because there isn't as much food variety as there used to be.

How Many Newfoundland Pine Martens Are Left?

The Newfoundland marten is genetically different from the American marten on the mainland. Their numbers have dropped a lot since the 1800s. This is because their homes were destroyed by logging and too many were caught in traps.

In 1986, there were about 630-875 martens. By 1995, this number fell to 300 animals. This raised worries about inbreeding, which happens when closely related animals have babies. The Newfoundland marten population seems to be made up of several small groups. These groups don't mix much, which is a big concern for the species' survival. In 2007, it was estimated that there were between 286 and 556 adult martens. These were spread across 5 small groups.

What is Their Status?

The Newfoundland marten is considered endangered. It is protected in Canada by several laws:

• The Species at Risk Act (SARA)
• The Canada National Parks Act
• The Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act

It was first called "Threatened" in 1986. Then, in 1996 and 2000, it was changed to "Endangered," with only about 300 martens left. In April 2007, COSEWIC looked at the species again and changed its status back to "Threatened."

What Are the Threats to Newfoundland Pine Martens?

The biggest threat to the Newfoundland marten is losing its home. This happens mainly because of clear-cutting. Clear-cutting is when all the trees in a large area are cut down. Martens need forests for their dens, resting places, and to find food. When forests are clear-cut, the new, younger forests that grow back are often not as good for martens. In these poorer quality forests, martens have to use more energy to find food and defend a larger area. They also face a higher risk of being hunted.

Clear-cuts can be very large, sometimes covering 1000 hectares (about 2500 acres). This leaves only small patches of trees. New roads are also built, making the total area of clear-cuts very big over time. Areas without trees make it hard for martens to move around. This reduces genetic variety and makes it harder for them to spread to new areas.

In the past, too much trapping caused the marten population to drop. In the mid-1800s, thousands of marten furs were sent from Newfoundland to the United Kingdom. Legal trapping for Newfoundland martens has been closed since 1934. However, martens still accidentally get caught in snares set for snowshoe hares. Since 1970, about 1.45 martens are accidentally killed each year. This number is too high for a population of only 300 animals. Snares cause 92% of young marten deaths and 58% of adult marten deaths.

Other threats include diseases that can spread from farmed mink or other animals. Diseases from pets can also be a problem. There are also unknown effects from introducing the southern red-backed vole. This could lead to more predators like red foxes, coyotes, and large birds of prey. These animals hunt martens and compete with them for food and den sites.

How Are We Helping Them Recover?

In 1996, a program was started at Salmonier Nature Park to breed martens in captivity. They had litters in 1999 and 2002, but this program has now stopped. Breeding martens in captivity has been difficult and hasn't worked consistently. In 1999, four martens raised in captivity were released into the wild near Terra Nova National Park.

Because of the big drop in marten numbers by 1973, the remaining habitat was named the "Pine Marten Study Area" (PMSA). All trapping and snaring were banned in this area. Logging continued in the PMSA until 1987, by which time about half the forest was cut. Outside the PMSA, the population kept dropping. This led COSEWIC to list the Newfoundland marten as threatened in April 1986.

A Recovery Plan was created to protect the Newfoundland marten. It has seven main goals:

• Keep and improve existing marten populations.
• Find out where their most important habitats are.
• Manage these important habitats to help them survive.
• Reduce accidental deaths from snaring and trapping.
• Keep learning about marten behavior to manage them better.
• Keep checking the population to see if recovery efforts are working.
• Get support from everyone involved.

The plan aims to create two separate marten populations on the island. Each population should have at least 350 animals, plus 100 more in nearby areas.

To reduce accidental deaths and habitat loss, important marten habitats have been protected by law. All critical habitat for the marten has at least some legal protection. About 29% of critical habitat is fully protected. This means all logging, traps, and snares are banned there. Other areas have partial protection from logging and trapping. Approved snaring and trapping methods are used in these areas.

A new snare design has also helped reduce accidental marten deaths. This snare works differently for hares and martens. Hares tend to pull against a snare, while martens twist. The new snares successfully held all hares tested and released all martens. However, if the snare is not set correctly, it might not release trapped martens. So, training programs have started to teach people how to set snares properly.

See also

In Spanish: Martes americana atrata para niños