2018

Martens are Having a "Fake" Mating Season

The footprints to be spotted in icy, snowy forests indicate that February is the time of mating for several species.

Wolves, lynxes and beavers have rutting season in the last month of winter; wolves earlier, beavers - a little later. Also foxes, American minks and European hares are becoming light-minded and carried away by the spring breezes.

The signs in snow show that pine martens have become more active - in February they have the so called "fake" mating period, when adult animals are becoming more active. Animals of both sexes are often active also during daytime, just like in rutting period.

Even though marten males and females are getting to know each other already in spring, they meet "for real" only in late June and in July when the wedding season begins. Gestation of pine martens lasts for nearly eight months. This is a long gestation period for such a small animal. This is due to the fact that conception is followed by the so-called latent period or diapause, when the baby is not developing.

Development is only resumed at the end of February and early March. The actual development time of the embryo does not exceed 30 days. Babies are born in March or April, so the duration of gestation does not coincide with the period of actual development of the embryo.

The latent period in gestation is also characteristic of several other mammals in Latvia. Deer experience the longest period. The total duration of gestation of these artiodactyle females living in the wild, is almost ten months, but the latent period lasts for four to five months after conception.

This latent period or diapause is needed to adjust the time of birth of the baby to the most favourable weather conditions for the survival of both the newborn and its mother.