Wildlifeof India
Nilgiri Marten
Bears, Dogs, Otters & Red Panda
Photo: N.A.Nazeer · CC BY-SA 2.5 in (May be cropped or resized)
Martes gwatkinsii
Basic stats
Diet
Birds, small mammals including the Malabar giant squirrel, insects such as cicadas, fruit and seeds
Habitat
Shola grassland and montane rain forest, sometimes adjacent moist deciduous forest and plantations
Range
Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Size
Head to vent 55–65cm; tail 40–45cm
Weight
About 2.1kg
The Nilgiri marten is the only marten native to southern India. It is deep brown from head to rump, with the forequarters almost reddish and a bright throat that ranges from yellow to orange. It is larger than the yellow-throated marten, about 55–65 cm from head to vent with a 40–45 cm tail, and weighs about 2.1 kg. It was described by Thomas Horsfield from a skin in the East India Company museum and named for the collector Reynolds Gwatkins (Wikipedia, general species account).
It lives mainly in the shola grasslands and montane rain forests of the Western Ghats, and sometimes in adjacent moist deciduous forest and plantations, in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Nilgiri Hills are the centre of its range, with sightings also from Charmadi Ghat and the Neyyar and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries. It is diurnal and mainly arboreal, coming to the ground only occasionally, and it is omnivorous, taking birds, small mammals and insects as well as fruit and seeds (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Nilgiri Marten eat?
- Birds, small mammals including the Malabar giant squirrel, insects such as cicadas, fruit and seeds
- What habitat does the Nilgiri Marten live in?
- Shola grassland and montane rain forest, sometimes adjacent moist deciduous forest and plantations
- Where is the Nilgiri Marten found?
- Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- How big is the Nilgiri Marten?
- Head to vent 55–65cm; tail 40–45cm
- How much does the Nilgiri Marten weigh?
- About 2.1kg