Martens are the only mustelids with semiretractable claws.
This enables them to lead more arboreal lifestyles, such as climbing or running on tree branches, although they are also relatively quick runners on the ground.
They are mainly active at night and dusk.
They have small, rounded, highly sensitive ears and sharp teeth adapted for eating small mammals, birds, insects, frogs, and carrion.
They have also been known to eat berries, birds' eggs, nuts, and honey.
European pine martens are territorial animals that mark their range by depositing feces (called scats) in prominent locations.
 These scats are black and twisted and can be confused with those of the fox, except that they reputedly have a floral odour.
Pine Martens usually make their own dens in hollow trees or scrub-covered fields.

The diet of the pine marten includes small mammals, carrion, birds, insects, and fruits.

The recovery of the European pine marten has been credited with reducing the population of invasive grey squirrels in the UK and Ireland.
Where the range of the expanding European pine marten population meets that of the grey squirrel, the population of the grey squirrels quickly retreats and the red squirrel population recovers.
Because the grey squirrel spends more time on the ground than the red squirrel, which co-evolved with the pine marten, they are thought to be far more likely to come in contact with this predator.
Martens are the only mustelids with semiretractable claws. This enables them to lead more arboreal lifestyles, such as climbing or running on tree branches, although they are also relatively quick runners on the ground. They are mainly active at night and dusk. They have small, rounded, highly sensitive ears and sharp teeth adapted for eating small mammals, birds, insects, frogs, and carrion. They have also been known to eat berries, birds' eggs, nuts, and honey. European pine martens are territorial animals that mark their range by depositing feces (called scats) in prominent locations.  These scats are black and twisted and can be confused with those of the fox, except that they reputedly have a floral odour. Pine Martens usually make their own dens in hollow trees or scrub-covered fields.
The diet of the pine marten includes small mammals, carrion, birds, insects, and fruits.
The recovery of the European pine marten has been credited with reducing the population of invasive grey squirrels in the UK and Ireland. Where the range of the expanding European pine marten population meets that of the grey squirrel, the population of the grey squirrels quickly retreats and the red squirrel population recovers. Because the grey squirrel spends more time on the ground than the red squirrel, which co-evolved with the pine marten, they are thought to be far more likely to come in contact with this predator.
European pine marten