Food habits of martens, Martes americana , in the south-central Yukon Territory

The diet of the Marten (Martes americana ) was studied in a 14-km super(2) area of the south-central Yukon Territory for three years. The major food group of the Marten was microtine rodents. Seasonally abundant food items, including overwintering and fresh fruits (primarily the Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum)), birds and Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus ), were also exploited by Marten. The proportional occurrence of Hares in scats exceeded that of Northern Red-backed Voles (Clethrionomys rutilus ) during January and February 1981 when Hares were abundant and many were starving. Our findings support the views that Marten are microtine specialists, supplementing their diets by opportunistically consuming a wide variety of food items. The common use of the Brown Lemming (Lemmus sibiricus ) is reported for the first time, while Microtus was not commonly used as has been noted in several other North American studies.