Marten

[ellenmillion]

I have a billion things to do, and I'm not doing any of them.

I do have another animal to add to my 'recently on our land' list. A marten!





These are pretty poor photos, as photos go. I was taking them with a zoom lens from about 150 feet with no tripod through doublepane glass, and he was running around for several of them. Norway saw it first, but didn't bark. It took only a moment to realize it wasn't just another red squirrel. Better yet, something that eats red squirrels. (I'm not a fan of squirrels...)




And one photo that just turned out nicely:

Comments

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

OMG SO CUTE!!!

[brightling.livejournal.com]

Oh neat! My dad sees pine martens up at site, and sometimes brings home pictures of them. The best was a short video of a marten in a big crate doing this adorable gurgle-y growl. You knew it wanted you to put your hand in the box so it could tear your fingers off - but it was SO CUTE! Its 'Adorableness in a Box'! ^_^ They were moving him farther away so he wouldn't be making a mess in and around the buildings. I wish we had more here!

Oh, I guess I should clarify that 'site' where my dad works is up at Attiwapiskat in north north Ontario. You can only get in by helicopter or ice road... and I think bush plane now. So they get much different wildlife than we do in southern Ontario. Similar wildlife to you in Alaska apparently.

[toeknuckles.livejournal.com]

that last photo is a really damned beautiful photo.
and your marten is certainly a handsome fellow. and they EAT squirrels? despite growing up spending a lot of time in the wild, some sick, disney part of my mind still thinks all cute animals should frolic together in a friendly manner....not EAT each other!

[samanthagms.livejournal.com]

I think I remember these guys are a relative of weasels or something...although I was surprised about them eating red squirrels too - the marten doesn't look like he's much bigger than a squirrel! I always enjoy seeing pictures of the wilderness in your backyard. :)

[rendergirl.livejournal.com]

Cute! Looks like a combo between a ferret and a meerkat!

[piotrov.livejournal.com]

Marten = A-freakin-dorable.

A great addition to the Million homestead. :)

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Oh, neat! I don't think I've ever seen a marten in the wild. So cute!

[wyrdwriter.livejournal.com]

ZOMG! I had never seen a marten before! Thanks for posting these!
The EAT Squirrels? How big is it?

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly, not a lot bigger than the squirrels - skinnier, but longer. Apparently, they take down hares, too (which are much larger than they are) and I wouldn't be surprised if they held their own with cats as well. It certainly wasn't very bothered by Norway.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

He's really not much larger - longer, but skinnier than our squirrels. They manage to cram a lot of fearlessness and ferocity into a cute little package.

[pixiewildflower.livejournal.com]

Lovely pics!