Title: Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammalia
Identifier: brehmslifeofanim1896breh (find matches)
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884; Pechuel-Loesche, Edward, 1840-1913; Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912; Schmidtlein, Richard
Subjects: Mammals; Animal behavior
Publisher: Chicago : Marquis
Contributing Library: Internet Archive
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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THE MARTEN FAMILY. 151 ing ones; others again live in hollow trees or seize upon the nests of Squirrels or of birds; in a word, it may be said that this family knows how to take ad- vantage of any kind of retreat, whether it be the natural crevice in a rock or an artificial cavern; a dark nook in a human dwelling or the branches or roots of trees in the heart of the forest. The ma- jority of these animals have a permanent dwelling- place, but many species prowl around. Some of those which inhabit northern regions hibernate; the others are active all the year round. Physical and Nearly all animals of this family are Mental Traits of remarkably quick, adroit creatures Martens. ancj adepts in all physical exercises. They walk on the soles of their feet, use their paws and tails in swimming, and climb excellently in spite of their blunt claws. Their organs of sense are all developed in nearly equal degree. Their mental place of concealment to another when she scents danger. When taken young and treated with care, animals of this family attain a high degree of docil- ity and may be trained to follow7 their master about and hunt and fish for his benefit. The descendants of one species have been domesticated for a period so long that it cannot be specified, and have been bred to serve the purposes of a certain class of sportsmen. The Marten Fam- Some of these animals work a great ily Destructive deal of mischief through their de- but Useful. structive, sanguinary instincts, but on the whole their usefulness, direct or indirect, more than compensates for the damage they do. Their services in catching harmful animals should not be underestimated, and though it may be difficult to forgive them their encroachments on human prop- erty, it must be admitted that the losses they occa-
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t hwfelfl I . THE PINE MARTEN.— Beautiful I the most attractive animals in the forests of Europe and northern Asia. The sides of dark brown, the long, bush; tail ol the same color, the black legs, the lighter tinge of the for-- head and cheeks, and the very light, bright yellow of the breast are distinguishing features of the animal. It i- a I.nest animal and is very destructive of small quadrupeds and birds. The picture shows it with an animal it has just caught. (Mustela martes.) endowments are of a high grade, and some species give evidence of an astonishing amount of reason- ing power. They are cunning, distrustful, wary, ex- tremely courageous and sanguinary, but devoted to their offspring. Some are gregarious, others live singly or only temporarily with their mates. Some are active both day and night, but the majority of them arc of nocturnal habits, and in populated dis- tricts they sally forth only at night. Their principal food consists of animals. Some eat fish, Crabs and vegetable food, especially sweet, juicy fruit. The thirst for blood that inspires them all is surprising in its intensity. They slay more than they need for their sustenance and some species might be said to intoxicate themselves with the blood they suck from their victims. The young, whose number varies between two and ten to the litter, are born blind and are under nurs- ing care for a long time. The mother defends them boldlv when attacked and carries them from one sion happen only through the carelessness of the in- voluntary contributors to their appetites. How great a number of animals of the Marten family arc killed annually for the sake of their furs is best seen from the statistics of the commerce of furs. According to Lomer about three million skins arc marketed annually, exclusive of those which Indian and Asiatic hunters retain for their own use. Some Indian and Mongol tribes live almost exclu- sively from the product of their chase of fur-pro- ducing animals, and among these the Martens rank first. Thousands of Europeans and Americans owe their living to the fur trade, and many extensive and previously unknown tracts of country have been opened to civilization by hunters and trappers who have ventured into them to seek this game. Three Sub-Fam- We will begin our description with Hies of the the Martens proper and those mem- Marten Family, bers of the family whose mode of progression is digitigrade, that is, those which walk

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