Martens move across the ground in a zig-zag fashion, then take a series of jumps. They're solitary but curious animals. Pine martens live in mature, dense conifer forests in northern Wisconsin. Click here to see a map of their range in Wisconsin . They can be found in woods with northern white cedar , balsam fir , spruce and eastern hemlock , especially where trees have fallen.
Forests provide plenty of food, protection from predators and den sites to use.
Pine martens are on the move and will cover their entire territory every 8-10 days as they hunt. They don t like other males in their territory, but they do like to have the females around. In the winter, martens will tunnel under the snow in search of mice and other small mammals. Even though they're at home in trees, they do most of their hunting on the ground. They have a high metabolism, and require a lot of food for energy.