The pine marten is a member of the weasel family. He lives in the boreal forest of Northern Ontario. He can usually be found in evergreen trees.
The pine marten is a small carnivore, a meat eater. Today, on a lovely summer day, a male pine marten is just waking up. He is hoping to find a red pine squirrel or, better yet, a spruce grouse, for breakfast.
He sits in a tall jack pine tree, planning his search. His short reddish brown fur glistens in the early morning sun.
The wind is gentle. It carries a familiar scent that the marten recognizes: his favourite meal. He sees it! A spruce grouse roosted in a nearby black spruce tree is just waking up.
The marten looks around carefully to ensure that there are no predators nearby that might be after him. His short but sharp claws cling tightly to the branch as he starts to move forward. His bushy tail helps him to keep his balance.
His eyes and his nose tell him that breakfast is about to be served. He starts to get excited. Then he begins to creep forward along the branch, slowly and carefully, so as not to alert the grouse to his presence.
The marten moves stealthily from branch to branch, tree to tree, making no sound whatsoever. He has great balance, so manouvering through the trees comes as second nature to him. His pointed face is concentrating on his target. His ears are cupped forward.
Finally, the pine marten is so close to the grouse that he can almost taste it. He tenses up his hind legs for the assault. He leaps forward in one smooth elegant motion and strikes his target like a bolt of lightning. After a brief struggle, the grouse is his!
Happily, the marten consumes some of the grouse, then buries the rest in a carefully chosen spot, where he can find it for his next meal.
The satisfied marten will spend the rest of the day sunning himself, and possibly looking for a mate. He is usually solitary, but when he finds a friendly female they will mate. She will have anywhere from one to five little ones in the spring. Together they will raise their young in the hollow of a tree.
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