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The American marten (Martes americana) is a North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n member of the Mustelidae
Mustelidae

Mustelidae or Mustelids , commonly referred to as the weasel family, is a family of carnivora mammals. The Mustelidae is a diverse family and the largest in the order Carnivora, at least partly because it has in the past been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa....
 family, sometimes referred to as the Pine Marten. The term Pine Marten
Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , or Pineten, is an animal of the weasel family, native to Northern Europe. It is about the size of a domestic cat....
 is also used to refer to a separate Martes species from Europe. It differs from the fisher
Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a North American marten, a medium-sized mustelidae. The fisher is agile in trees and has a slender body that allows it to pursue prey into hollow trees or burrows in the ground....
 (Martes pennanti) in that it is smaller in size, has a pelage
Pelage

In mammals, pelage is the hair, fur, or wool that covers the animal. In many mammals, the pelage is made up of more than one type of hair. Some of the most prominent types of hair that make up the pelage include guard hairs , bristles , and the underfur, which traps in air to maintain temperature....
 which is usually brown with an irregularly shaped chest-patch that is lighter in colour.

Some sources believe that the population found in the western United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 should be considered a distinct species and given the scientific name Martes caurina.

The marten lives in mature coniferous or mixed forests in Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, and south through the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
.






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The American marten (Martes americana) is a North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n member of the Mustelidae
Mustelidae

Mustelidae or Mustelids , commonly referred to as the weasel family, is a family of carnivora mammals. The Mustelidae is a diverse family and the largest in the order Carnivora, at least partly because it has in the past been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa....
 family, sometimes referred to as the Pine Marten. The term Pine Marten
Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , or Pineten, is an animal of the weasel family, native to Northern Europe. It is about the size of a domestic cat....
 is also used to refer to a separate Martes species from Europe. It differs from the fisher
Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a North American marten, a medium-sized mustelidae. The fisher is agile in trees and has a slender body that allows it to pursue prey into hollow trees or burrows in the ground....
 (Martes pennanti) in that it is smaller in size, has a pelage
Pelage

In mammals, pelage is the hair, fur, or wool that covers the animal. In many mammals, the pelage is made up of more than one type of hair. Some of the most prominent types of hair that make up the pelage include guard hairs , bristles , and the underfur, which traps in air to maintain temperature....
 which is usually brown with an irregularly shaped chest-patch that is lighter in colour.

Some sources believe that the population found in the western United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 should be considered a distinct species and given the scientific name Martes caurina.

The marten lives in mature coniferous or mixed forests in Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, and south through the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
. Trapping and destruction of forest habitat have reduced its numbers, but it is still much more abundant than the larger fisher
Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a North American marten, a medium-sized mustelidae. The fisher is agile in trees and has a slender body that allows it to pursue prey into hollow trees or burrows in the ground....
. The Newfoundland subspecies
Newfoundland Pine Marten

The Newfoundland Pine Marten is a genetically distinct subspecies of the American Marten found only on the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; it is sometimes referred to as the American Marten ....
 of this animal (Martes americana atrata) is considered to be endangered.

Americanmarten23
The American Marten has a long slender body covered in glossy brownish fur with a lighter coloured throat, a long bushy tail and a pointed snout. Like those of cat
Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
s, its claws are semi-retractable, and aid it in climbing trees. It also has very large foot pads in relation to body weight allowing it to walk on hard snow. This provides the marten with a distinct advantage in areas that receive heavy snows.

The animal is omnivorous, preferring to catch and eat small mammals, especially the American Red Squirrel
American Red Squirrel

The American Red Squirrel is one of two species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels ....
 (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), but readily consuming fish, frogs, insects, carrion, and fruit and other vegetation when available. It is most active at night, early morning, and late afternoon. It is usually solitary outside of the mating season. Males defend a territory of one to three square miles, and can be very aggressive toward other males. Mating occurs during the summer, but implantation of the fertilized egg is delayed (delayed implantation ) and 1 to 5 young "kits" are born the following spring in a den in a hollow tree or rock cavity.

However, different provinces (Canada) and states (United States) may require a permit for wildlife to be kept in a private residence. Examples of various legislation that may apply include the Fish and Wildlife Act
Fish and Wildlife Act

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 of the United States of America establishes a comprehensive national fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources policy with emphasis on the commercial fishing industry but also with a direction to administer the Act with regard to the inherent right of every citizen and resident to fish for pleasure, enjoyment, and...
, and the Wildlife Act
Wildlife Act

Wildlife Act may refer to:*Wildlife Act 1953 in New Zealand*Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of the United Kingdom*Canada Wildlife Act*Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 of India...
. Permits required may include a wildlife rehabilitation permit or a captive wildlife permit. It is usual for governments and other wildlife organizations to discourage people from removing wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
 from its natural environment unless its survival is threatened.

The fur of the American Marten is shiny and luxuriant, resembling that of the closely related sable
Sable

The sable is a small carnivorous mammal, closely related to the martens. It inhabits taiga environments primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaido in Japan....
. At the turn of the twentieth century, the American Marten population was depleted due to the fur trade
Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur....
. The Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. The company was incorporated by British royal charter in 1670 as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay; it is now domiciled in Canada and has adopted the mo...
 traded in pelts from this species among others. Numerous protection measures and reintroduction efforts have allowed the population to increase, but deforestation
Deforestation

Deforestation is the logging or burning of trees in forested areas. There are several reasons for doing so: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and are used by humans while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement....
 is still a problem for the marten in much of its habitat. Hunting of the American Marten is currently legal in certain areas during a short hunting season.