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Animal tracks are particularly easy to spot in the snow. Marten tracks have characteristic features and are therefore easy to distinguish from cats and the like. We'll tell you what to look out for when making the determination.
In a nutshell
- about five inches long and four inches wide
- crescent bale
- five toe prints with claw prints in front of each toe
- offset and clearly recognizable when running slowly
- next to each other and blurred with jumping locomotion
Different tracks
Depending on how fast or slow a stone marten moves, its footprints in the white snow look very different. If the animals want to be fast, they jump - comparable to hares - and both paws come up next to each other. In addition, the hind paws usually fall into the tracks of the front paws that have appeared before, so that no clear imprint is recognizable - the marten track appears blurred. The paw prints can only be seen clearly and staggered when moving slowly.
Notice: The type of snow also affects how clearly animal tracks can be seen. Deep, firm snow is best for tracking. If, on the other hand, the white splendor is wet or powdery, the imprints remain indistinct.
recognize marten tracks
Unlike many other wild and domestic species that roam the garden, marten tracks have these distinguishing features:
- five toe prints
- distinct claw marks on each toe
- Bale looks like crescent shaped sickle
- about 3.5 to 5 centimeters long
- 3 to 4 inches wide
frequently asked Questions
How can you tell marten tracks from cat tracks?Cat or dog tracks are easy to distinguish from marten tracks. The most important distinguishing feature is the number of toe marks: the stone marten has five toes, but cats or dogs only have four. In addition, clear claw marks are visible on martens, but not on our pets.
Which animal tracks are similar to those of the marten?Traces that are very similar to the stone marten in the wintry white splendor also leave related species such as badgers or polecats. However, badger paw prints are much larger than marten tracks - up to three inches long and wider - and polecat's are much smaller. Raccoon dogs also leave similar footprints, but they only have four toes - just like the fox, by the way. Raccoon tracks, on the other hand, look like small handprints.
Do martens hibernate?Neither the pine marten nor the more common stone marten hibernate - quite the opposite. Instead, the animals become a real nuisance in the cold season because they look for warm places to retreat and therefore like to make themselves at home in attics (especially those with thick thermal insulation), in partition walls, in protected garden sheds or under the hood of the car.