Marten lifestyle
During the day, the marten rests in a hollow, burrow or nest. She can even adapt someone else's nest for sleep and rest. But with the onset of dusk, the predator becomes active. He climbs trees all night, showing remarkable agility and activity.
At night, the animal eats insects, birds, small mammals, frogs, eggs, berries, nuts on its personal territory, which is located in the taiga or mixed forest. If he finds nothing, he will not disdain carrion. The marten is an excellent mouser and thanks to this it becomes beautiful and well-fed.
The search for food is carried out mainly in forest windbreaks. This makes it difficult for hunters to find the animal and catch it. This predatory mammal of the mustelid family lives from fifteen to twenty-five years. On its small but flexible legs, the marten climbs well, without getting tired at all.
It has sharp claws on all five fingers that help tear apart a rodent or bird. The animal is cute, and not only with its sharp muzzle and beautiful color. On the neck and chest of the marten there is a white spot that distinguishes it from other related animals.
The tail is beautiful and fluffy, especially in winter, and makes up a quarter of the body length. In addition to the common marten, the white marten also lives in Russian forests. It has a snow-white breast color. In addition to this, martens with a yellowish spot on the chest and under the throat live in the northern taiga.
Martens are beautiful at all times of the year. But they look the fluffiest and cutest in winter. Therefore, hunting is carried out precisely in the winter season. The animal is hunted only for its skins; its meat is tasteless and is not eaten.
How to scare away a ferret, marten, weasel
Electronic devices have been developed that create ultrasound. It causes fear in the predator and forces the animal to leave the territory covered by the repeller.
Live trap diagram
The device does not bother other animals. The person doesn't hear him. The disadvantage of an ultrasonic device is the possible addiction of the predator, the disappearance of the scaring effect.
Low frequency repellers are not addictive. The sound always seems to be the animal signal of an approaching earthquake. However, the device has a negative impact on pets that sense low-frequency sounds. Chickens experience stress when the appliance is operating.
There are light repellers that have a motion sensor. When fixing a moving object, the device turns on a flashlight, the light of which, frightening, drives the animal away from the chicken coop.
The disadvantage of the light repellent method is the inability to completely cover the entire area around the building, so persistent ferrets will be able to enter the chicken coop through an unlit area. A light repeller, additionally equipped with a sound function, is more effective.
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Hunting season and trap setting
the marten hunting season to begin from late November to early March. At other times, hunting is not carried out due to the ban. And there’s really no point in hunting down a shedding animal, which is no longer so fluffy and valuable. By winter, martens grow long fur.
Therefore, the marten becomes a valuable trophy for any hunter. You can sew a warm and beautiful fur coat from the skin. The fur of Russian martens is considered the best in the world and therefore the obtained skins can be sold without any problems. Most often, martens are caught using various traps.
To install them, you need to have the necessary knowledge about the marten’s habitat and its habits. A cunning and intelligent animal is not so easy to trap. But hunting with husky and tracking is considered the most exciting and exciting. They often go on such hunts at night.
Only patient hunters hunt marten. After all, you will have to feed the future winter hunting area for many autumn days, regardless of the hunting method. In order not to come home empty-handed, you will need to find the animals’ habitat.
With the onset of winter, snares and traps are placed in a well-fed place near trees with large hollows, at the crossings of forest streams and rivulets. In winter, martens will definitely visit the place that was their free autumn canteen. It’s also worth going fishing with a dog or tracking an animal with a gun.
The marten is a forest dweller, prefers to live in dense thickets
Homemade traps
Some farmers catch animals with homemade traps.
The simplest version of the device is a bucket or box with a support. The bait is a piece of meat containing a large volume of blood.
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The support is positioned so that the animal knocks it down by pulling the bait. The downside of the trap is the need for constant checking, otherwise the ferret will have time to get out. The caught animal must be removed quickly.
More reliable is a cage that has a vertically lowering door held open by a rope, which is released as soon as the bait is touched. To attract the animal, meat is taken with copious amounts of blood.
Care should be taken when removing a captured ferret. The teeth of polecats, martens, and weasels are very sharp, easily bite through the skin, and damage joints.
A wild animal may be infected with the rabies virus. Thick, thick mittens are put on your hands, and thick leather gloves underneath. It is convenient to use a lasso when getting a predator out of a trap.
You should not try to tear off a ferret that has grabbed your hand: the injury will be worse. The animal's nose is pinched to loosen its grip, then a wooden stick is inserted between the jaws and the mouth is opened.
A cage with a vertically lowering door is more reliable.
After being bitten, you should immediately seek medical help and get vaccinated against rabies. You should try to take your ferret to a veterinary laboratory for diagnosis.
What to do with the captured animal is up to the poultry farmer to decide. If possible, you can act humanely: release the ferret far into the forest, from where the animal cannot return. When long-distance release is not possible, the pest must be destroyed. The skin of a healthy animal is used.
Some farmers know how to catch polecats with a rope lasso. The method is complex and requires experience. If the hunter's skill is insufficient, the animal will easily escape the noose and become more careful.
Important! Experts do not recommend using homemade products for catching polecats, but recommend professional devices that provide guaranteed results.
Hunting marten with husky
Despite the great popularity of catching martens using traps and traps, this fur-bearing animal is also caught in other ways, for example, using a hunting dog. Such active hunting with a four-legged friend brings more vivid sensations than passive testing of traps and loops.
After the chase, the hunter feels a sense of victory when the dead marten ends up in his backpack. Tracking the animal itself can take several hours. This is the time to communicate with the beautiful Russian forest, which has already shed its autumn leaves, but still has not lost its charm.
The hunter and the dog have complete mutual understanding, they have a sense of camaraderie and trust. They follow the trail of the animal with concentration and experience great pleasure from the process. A well-trained husky can track a marten from a great distance from the predator’s place of residence.
She will never get lost in the tracks, no matter how cunning the predator tries to make its existence as secretive as possible. After the marten is discovered, the dog drives it up a tree and barks until its owner appears. The hunter approaches the tree and tries with all his might to drive the marten to the ground.
And there the husky quickly does the owl’s job: it attacks the forest dweller and grabs it by the throat with its teeth, and then brings it to the owner, who must thank his smart and faithful assistant. This type of hunting is only suitable for experienced hunters.
The maximum productivity of this method of preying on a furry predator is only in winter, when the snow cover allows the dog to easily move through the snow. In the middle of winter, meter-long snowdrifts sweep up the forest and they no longer take huskies for hunting.
Dogs are excellent helpers in marten hunting.
Hunting marten with traps
Traps are different. Some are allowed to catch marten, while others are prohibited. Improper use of traps can lead to accidents or poor hunting results. To catch martens, the use of a frame trap is permitted.
It was made at an industrial enterprise engaged in the production of fishing gear. The frame-type design of traps has a guard, springs, round and square frames. For martens they take a trap numbered zero, one or two. When a predator falls into this factory trap, a mechanism is triggered.
The springs are tensioned between the arms at the installation site and the frame is deployed. The plate trap is also manufactured at the factory. It is prohibited to make and install homemade traps of this type in the forest. The operating principle resembles a frame trap.
But there is a nuance in using special curved metal strips. The fisherman must understand that traps are an inhumane way of catching animals. When an animal is caught with a gun or with the help of a dog, instant or rapid death occurs. And inside the trap the animal cannot move, since its limbs are captured.
He will suffer for a long time until he dies. Death will be long and painful. Therefore, no real hunter uses homemade self-catchers. This is not only inhumane, but also punishable by the laws of the country. Traps can be placed in the forest in a variety of ways.
To successfully harvest a fur-bearing animal, a factory trap must be properly prepared. It is boiled in a pine solution, all factory odors are removed, especially grease. Installation of the trap should be carried out in mittens, which should smell of taiga herbs, and not the smell of a person.
When winter actively comes into its own, the trap may be covered with snow. To prevent this, you should make a canopy over the ditch. A marten trap is often installed on a tree at a height of about two meters. You can place it near a hollow or animal path.
Many methods of hunting marten are prohibited, and experienced hunters generally do not use them
Hunting for heaps
Kulemka as a plane was invented by craftsmen from Arkhangelsk. They have been installing this device in the forest for a long time to catch different types of fur-bearing animals. A bag is somewhat reminiscent of a mousetrap, but there is a difference. It is completely covered with boards on the sides and top, so this trap is considered effective and efficient.
The bag is used even in heavy snowfall, and the bait will not be eaten by rodents, voracious birds and other forest inhabitants. Despite the simplicity and simplicity of use, this mechanism allows you to catch a lot of animals without much effort. There is a small waste of time and effort.
Kulemki are now sold in stores for hunters. They are much more humane than traps, since a fur-bearing animal dies instantly and without prolonged torment and agony. With a meager family budget, bags are made at home.
They also work flawlessly and are installed on large tree branches or attached to the trunk. There is always bait for the animal inside the bag, otherwise it will not approach the trap. It is better to use the bag in cold weather.
During thaw days, any animal caught may begin to deteriorate and decompose. In warm weather, it is recommended to check this trap daily. And of course, you shouldn’t be greedy and observe the limit on catching animals, otherwise there will be few martens left in the forest.
Bag for hunting marten and sable
Hunting for loops
Hunting for marten with loops is used only by novice hunters or those hunters who have little conscience. Experienced hunters disdainfully treat marten hunting in this way. Only lazy hunters catch with snares, who place them on the animal’s trail, at the animal’s feeding or daytime resting place.
As a result, the animal gets caught in a loop from which it cannot get out. The noose entangles the animal and strangles its neck, and the marten dies. A professional will never use such a poaching method of catching a forest beauty.
What is the danger of ferrets, weasels and martens?
The particular danger of the predator is the mass destruction of poultry. Having entered the poultry house, the ferret, having eaten, begins to store food for future use.
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The entire chicken flock often becomes prey. The hunting pattern of ferrets, weasels, and martens is the same: fishing continues as long as there is a living bird in the chicken coop.
If the predator is scared off, the hunt will continue the next night. It is important for the farmer to prevent such attacks.
Chicken coop after a visit from a predator
The skeletal features of the ferret and weasel allow the animals to easily penetrate through small holes and narrow cracks, significantly complicating the protection of the chicken coop in the habitats of these predators. It is easier to protect the poultry house from rats.
Important! Large aggressive roosters can kill ferrets while protecting the hens. The rooster is powerless against experienced hunters who regularly hunt poultry.
Hunting marten by tracking
But tracking is considered a classic of hunting. This is an interesting, humane and legal fishing method. There are no sneaky loops or homemade traps here. The hunter wanders through the forest with a gun, he does not take the dog with him.
The hunter's intelligence and insight allow him to read marten tracks, untangle them, and lure the animal out of the hollow. An accurate shot with small shot from a gun allows you to kill the animal without spoiling its valuable skin. A properly fired shot will keep your precious fur in excellent condition.
The hunter wanders through the forest, getting great pleasure from it. On the way, you may come across beautiful milk mushrooms or travelers, which you can also put in your backpack. The hunter turns into a real tracker. He sees the bark of trees scratched by marten claws, distinguishes marten droppings from the droppings of other forest animals.
If a marten is found, progressive methods are used to lure the animal out of its shelter. And how much adrenaline increases after a successful shot, when a valuable skin ends up in your backpack.
The method of tracking gives a lot of unforgettable impressions. People go on such hunts in late autumn and early winter, when the snow cover is still small. You can also hunt in the middle of winter, but the results will be worse due to snowdrifts and drifts.
Night fishing for marten
Every hunter knows perfectly well about the night habits of the marten. During the daytime, the marten hides in hollows and goes out hunting at night. Therefore, many fishermen hunt this predator at night. They take with them a hunting dog, a husky, or bypass the mustelids' possession by tracking.
Night hunting for marten gives even more thrills than daytime forays into the taiga. Usually during the day they catch martens only with various traps, such as a bag or a trap. And they engage in active hunting in the dark. At this time the taiga is even more beautiful. Your assistant will be a flashlight, illuminating the path and pointing to the tracks.
When hunting at night, you should be especially well insulated. You definitely can’t do without a warm hat, mittens and felt boots. You need to walk slowly through the forest so as not to run into sharp branches on which you can fall face down. When hunting marten, you should not be greedy.
Take from nature only what you need, leaving the riches of the forest for future generations. Do not use poaching fishing methods. Buy good equipment for a successful hunt. And then the hunting process will give only the most vivid sensations and wonderful trophies.
Features of catching marten with traps
Let's talk about how to catch marten with traps. She, like all predators, is a very cautious animal . She is awake mostly at night, which makes it difficult to hunt her with a gun.
The marten begins to molt early in the spring. The fur falls out and grows unevenly, but by the end of October the animal is already wearing luxurious winter clothing again.
When going hunting, it is worth remembering that the marten does not make houses, that is, it is not tied to one place . She moves freely through the forest, remaining in one place if there is food and a convenient place for daytime rest, or leaving in case of danger.
Tree hollows usually serve as daytime shelters for martens..
Only the female stays in one place for a long time, caring for the offspring.
The hunt for martens begins at the end of October . But even before that you shouldn’t sit idle. It is necessary to make constant rounds at the beginning of autumn: hunters look for places convenient for martens to live, make notches, feed the animal, laying out bait periodically in the same places.
