Wildlifeof India
Yellow-throated Marten
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Photo: Shiv's fotografia · CC BY-SA 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Martes flavigula
Basic stats
Diet
Rats, mice, hares, snakes, lizards, eggs, ground-nesting birds, young deer and goral; also fruit and nectar
Habitat
Forest, from lowlands to alpine meadow (recorded to 4,510m in Nepal)
Range
Himalayas and hills of northern and north-eastern India; Southeast and East Asia
Litter size
2–3 kits, rarely 4
Size
Body 50–72cm (males); tail about two-thirds of body length
Weight
Males 2.5–5.7kg; females 1.6–3.8kg
The yellow-throated marten is a large, robust marten with a long, muscular body and a tail about two-thirds as long as the body. The fur is short and bright brownish yellow, the head and back are darker, the cheeks reddish, and the chest and lower throat orange-gold. The front paws and lower forelegs are black and the tail is black above. It is the second-largest marten in the Old World after the Nilgiri marten (Wikipedia, general species account).
In India it lives in the Himalayas and the north-eastern states, including northern West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam. It patrols large ranges, covering 10–20 km in a day and night, and is a diurnal hunter that often works in pairs or small groups. It hunts mostly on the ground, but climbs well and can leap 8–9 m between branches. In the Himalayas it is reported to kill muntjac fawns. It also eats nectar and fruit and so helps to disperse seeds (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Yellow-throated Marten eat?
- Rats, mice, hares, snakes, lizards, eggs, ground-nesting birds, young deer and goral; also fruit and nectar
- What habitat does the Yellow-throated Marten live in?
- Forest, from lowlands to alpine meadow (recorded to 4,510m in Nepal)
- Where is the Yellow-throated Marten found?
- Himalayas and hills of northern and north-eastern India; Southeast and East Asia
- What is the litter size of the Yellow-throated Marten?
- 2–3 kits, rarely 4
- How big is the Yellow-throated Marten?
- Body 50–72cm (males); tail about two-thirds of body length
- How much does the Yellow-throated Marten weigh?
- Males 2.5–5.7kg; females 1.6–3.8kg