How big is a pine marten?
Comparing the size of a pine marten to familiar British mammals...
The pine marten is a recovering native mammal in Britain and Ireland and is part of the mustelid family alongside badgers, stoats, weasels, polecats and otters. Male pine martens weigh between 1.5-2.2kg and females weigh between 0.9-1.5kg. The distinct difference in size between male and female pine martens is called sexual dimorphism. Including their long, bushy tails, pine martens range from 64cm - 81cm from nose to tail tip. They are visually similar in size to a house cat, although house cats will often be twice the weight or more of a pine marten! In winter, the size of a pine marten is pronounced by its thicker and bushier winter coat. A pine marten's tail looks especially bushy in the winter months!
Pine marten size comparison from camera trap footage with fox, badger, grey squirrel and roe deer.
Foxes weigh between 5-7kg, so a larger fox is around three times the weight of a large male pine marten. Foxes measure around 1-1.3m from nose to tail tip.
Badgers weigh 8-12kg. Badgers are the largest land carnivore in Britain and Ireland, feeding on a varied diet of that includes plenty of earthworms. Badgers are widespread throughout Europe and they often pay our camera traps a visit at various NatureSpy projects.
Grey squirrels weigh between 0.4-0.7kg. Pine martens prey on grey squirrels and we’ve caught this on camera in Yorkshire. This is good news for Britain and Ireland's native red squirrels, as they have been pushed out of their habitats and suffered from squirrelpox virus because of the introduction of grey squirrels from North America.
Grey squirrel scurries along a fallen tree
Stoats weigh 0.14-0.44kg, which means that larger stoats are about half the bodyweight of smaller pine martens. Stoats and pine martens are both in the mustelid family and they are similar in appearance with a long body, short legs and similar fur colour. There are several species of mustelid that are sometimes confused for pine martens, including stoats, polecats and mink. Learn to tell them apart here.
Roe deer weigh 10-25kg. There are six different deer species in Britain. Roe deer are a medium-sized deer, although red deer tower over them! Learn more about the differences between UK deer species here.
