pine marten

This little beastie was one of a few that’s been trapped around work recently, living in the nice warm buildings. It’s really an American Marten, rather than a Pine Marten, and it was surprisingly placid compared to some of the others that are trapped. Rather than snarling and biting, he just sat there licking the cage.

They’re little omnivores, and according to wikipedia, they catch and eat squirrels (I stand by my belief that Canadian wildlife is much more alarming than Australian wildlife). As well as frogs and fish and fruit and whatever else they can find laying about.

And the random fact I always think of when I see one [SPOILER WARNING]: if you’ve read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, a pine marten is what Lyra’s daemon ends up becoming as his final form.