Tracking the American marten (Martes americana) is much like tracking the fisher but in miniature. Like fishers (5 – 12 pounds), martens (1 – 3 pounds) wind through the forest, often from the base of one large tree or snag to another, frequently stop to scent mark, and often climb trees and jump down from the trunk. They run across logs and tunnel into deep snow, and they do all of this over a smaller area, being much smaller than fishers. For the tracker enjoying good substrate, this means a lot of interesting behavior can be interpreted within a small area. So read up on marten tracks and sign before your next winter tracking expedition within the marten’s range, and see if you can find some of this action, and make some of your own discoveries.

A quick note on the common name. Some people refer to this species as “pine marten”. I choose not to, because the European marten (Martes martes) more regularly goes by that name, and I like to be clear on the species to which I’m referring. If you want to call the American marten a pine marten, go for it, but be aware that if you’re addressing naturalists from both sides of the pond, you may need to clarify which species you’re talking about.

Marten tracks and sign

Marten tracks

As creatures of the Northwoods, American martens have a lot of fur on the bottoms of their feet. Most tracking books say this creates a blurry track appearance, but the more experience I gain, the more I think substrate has a far greater influence than fur on track clarity. The photo below shows fresh marten tracks in wet, shallow snow. Notice that the pads register quite clearly, despite the marten’s furry feet.

The front track usually measures about 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches in width. It has 5 clawed toes. The innermost toe (toe #1) is the smallest and registers either faintly or not at all. The other toes usually do register. Metacarpal pads are in a C-shaped configuration. The two leading (central) pads appear fused while the outer pads register discretely. There is also a carpal pad which sometimes registers as a dot. In between the toe and metacarpal pads is a lot of fur, creating “negative space” in the tracks. What this means is that the you usually cannot see the connection between the finger tips and the metacarpal pad. But sometimes you can see a hint of those connections. It depends on the substrate. In the photo below you can see faint connections, especially in the right front track.

Hind tracks are slightly smaller at 1 1/8 – 2 1/4 inches in width. The anatomy of the hind feet is very similar to that of the front feet except that the carpal pad is covered with fur. So, while the “heel” often registers, a discrete heel pad does not register. Also, the innermost toe (toe #1) of the hind foot tends to register even more faintly than that of the front foot. Compare the Right Front and Right Hind feet in the photo below to appreciate these differences.

Marten trails

Martens most often lope. In snow of at least a few inches in depth, they tend to use a 2×2 lope, superimposing hind over front tracks, to save energy. In shallower substrate, the marten often uses a 3×4 rotary lope in which the hind track on one side of the body is partially superimposed on the front track of that same side. I have not seen marten tracks in a transverse loping pattern (but that doesn’t mean they never do it). Martens walk when moving slowly to explore something of interest, and sometimes before scent marking.

It’s interesting to compare fisher and marten tracks and trails in the same substrate. Compared to most mammals, both species have low foot-loading (body weight per unit area of footprint), enabling them to travel relatively easily in the deep, soft snow of their northern forest haunts. But the marten’s foot loading is especially low – it’s less than half that of the fisher. Notice in the center photo below that the fisher sinks more and takes shorter steps, as if it labors where the marten glides almost effortlessly.

Tracking behavior

…And by that I mean finding and interpreting behaviors while tracking. Like many other mammals, martens run on logs, especially log bridges over streams. The latter behavior is nice information for the camera trapper, but I don’t have quite enough experience to know how regularly martens use log bridges. So far I just know that they use them.

A very common behavior which isn’t much help to the camera trapper but is fun to see in snow, is jumping down from a tree. In deep, soft snow, you might see an entire body print that looks like the fisher body print in this post, but obviously it will be much smaller. In shallow substrate, you’ll see just the 4 feet planted. If you find something like that, study it carefully, because sometimes a traveling marten will simply pause with all 4 feet planted. In the photo below, I am not totally sure, but think the animal jumped from a tree because the tracks were deeper than the those of the rest of its trail.

Martens sometimes tunnel into deep snow, whether searching for prey or heading to a sleeping chamber, and a common entry spot is at the top of a small conifer. The photo below shows exactly that. Maybe they like this type of entry because the tree traps a lot of air, making the snow around the tree loose and easy to tunnel through.

Marten scat, urine, and scent marking

Marten scat is usually about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter and is often left on elevated surfaces along travel routes. I have read that marten scats accumulate around resting spots, though I have not observed this (more on that in a future post on winter dens). Because martens consume both animal and plant matter, scat appearance varies depending on diet. Fur filled scats are tapered and twisted. Note that the placement, size, and varied appearance mean that marten scats can be hard to distinguish from fox scats.

Marten urine has a distinctive odor. In my limited experience in sniffing mustelid pee, I think it’s very similar to fisher urine. I have no words to describe it, other than the fact that it definitely differs from the smell of fox, coyote, and cat urine.

Like fishers, martens sometimes roll around where they urinate. I believe that is what happened in the photo below.

Martens also drag their bellies and/or groin when urinating and/or depositing glandular secretions. This leaves a “slide” in snow. It’s often done at the base of a large tree or snag. This is shown and discussed in Do Fishers Slide? What About the Other Weasels?

Finally, I once caught a marten on camera doing something that looks very similar to what otters do when scent marking. At the base of a large tree, the marten appeared to be paddling its hind feet. Probably it was depositing scat or urine, and marking with hind feet. Watch this behavior in the video below.