Some observations on the mating behaviour of captive American pine martens Martes americana

Abstract

G rant J. and Hawley A. 1996. Some observations on the m ating behaviour of captive American pine martens Martes americana. Acta Theriologica 41: 4 3 9 -4 4 2 .Four male and 8 female captive pine martens Martes americana (Turton, 1806) were observed for signs of mating. Behavioural changes associated with the breeding season began in mid-June. Subjective observation indicated that the frequency of abdominal scent marking and body contact between males and females increased from June through July and decreased during A ugust. Aggression between females in creased markedly during the breeding season. The animals emitted diverse vocaliza tions, including a throaty chuckle that was associated with breeding and that was indistin guishable by observers from a call emitted when fem ales appeared to be consoling young kits. Copulation was observed on 4 occasions during July in one pair o f m artens, and was typical of that described for M artes species in general. Two individual copulatory acts were timed and lasted 5 and 14.5 min, respectively. The female appeared to control the timing and duration of copulation and seemed in one instance to actively solicit the attention of the male.

Changes in the reproductive behaviour of the endangered Newfoundland marten (<i>Martes americana atrata</i>): implications for captive breeding programs

“…Second, female 1's marking bouts were usually interspersed with pair interactions, whereas the male's marking bouts were not. Females have been reported to control the frequency and duration of mating (Grant and Hawley 1996); however, our results also suggest female control of the direct and indirect interactions that precede mating.…”

“…americana, DeMonte and Roeder 1990;M. foina, Lodé 1991;Helldin and Lindstrom 1995;Grant and Hawley 1996;Seiler et al 1994). In this case, however, large differences in marking frequency were observed immediately after the male was introduced, indicating that this change in behaviour may be mediated, in part, by interaction with a conspecific, as opposed to just being a response to seasonal cues.…”

“…As this season approaches, both captive and wild martens show increases in scentmarking, intersexual body contact, and intrasexual female aggression (De Monte and Roeder 1990;Helldin and Lindström 1995;Grant and Hawley 1996). Scent-marking by the closely related stone marten, Martes foina, also increases (Lodé 1991;Seiler et al 1994).…”

“…Mating is often interspersed with mock wrestling. Female martens appear to control the actual timing and duration of mating, and even encourage the male on some occasions (Grant and Hawley 1996). Mounting durations for martens range from a few minutes to more than an hour (Siefke 1960;Henry and Raphael 1989;Lodé 1991;Ruggiero and Henry 1993;Mead 1994).…”

“…The breeding season for martens starts near the beginning of July and may last until the end of July (Grant and Hawley 1996) or August (Mead 1994). As this season approaches, both captive and wild martens show increases in scentmarking, intersexual body contact, and intrasexual female aggression (De Monte and Roeder 1990;Helldin and Lindström 1995;Grant and Hawley 1996).…”