The camera images often show that they pass by the same spot within the same night.
Its name says it all: stone martens love stony biotopes and hiding places. For the stone marten, Tapijn is a perfect place to look for food, close to buildings with many hiding places.
Latin name: Martes foina
Characteristics:
The stone marten is about the size of a cat, but it is slimmer and it has shorter legs. Its coat is ash-grey to grey-brown with a (grey) white undercoat. The stone marten can also be recognised by its (creamy) white throat patch, which often extends to the legs. It has small, short, hairy ears and a small snout with a pink nose and dark whiskers. Its short legs have 5 toes with sharp nails and pads. The stone marten has a striking tail: it has long hairs and is quite long, round and woolly. Males are somewhat larger than females.
In general, stone martens are quite quiet, but depending on the circumstances, they can make various sounds. For example, growling, screaming or whistling sounds when they are excited. In confrontations with other stone martens, they produce cat-like shrieks. Young stone martens squeak. If you have stone martens in your attic and they are playing or it’s mating season, you may hear stumbling sounds.
Reproduction:
Stone martens are solitary animals. Both males and females have their own territory that is demarcated with scent trails: urine and aromatic substances from the glands between the pads of their hind legs, the mouth, and the anus. Sometimes fierce and noisy fights take place, especially in August, September, and October, when the young animals go looking for their own territory. A stone marten has several hiding places in its territory, for example, tree cavities, branch piles, dense thickets, crawl spaces or attics.
The stone marten’s mating season is in July and August. During this period, they are quite odorous, so that males and females can easily find each other. Fierce fights take place between males, in particular, in an attempt to capture females. A female is often covered by several males.
Stone martens have an extended gestation period of 9 months. A fertilised egg-cell divides several times and then enters a resting phase. Division doesn’t continue until January, when the egg nestles in the womb. In March or April, 1 to 4 babies are born. The young are about 10 cm in size, have a grey-white coat, and their eyes do not open until they are 5 weeks old. They are suckled for 2 months and from 6 weeks on they are also given solid foods. After about 3 months, the young are independent and join their mother to explore the area. In late summer, the youngsters have to look for their own territory.
Diet:
Stone martens have a versatile diet. They mainly look for their food at night. They eat mice, rats, hedgehogs, young rabbits, birds, eggs, beetles, caterpillars, frogs, and earthworms. Between July and December, stone martens eat many fruits and berries, such as blackberries, bird cherries, black nightshade berries, apples, pears, and cherries. In the winter, they also eat shrews. Stone martens also eat human food, such as bread.
