SE AK marten health

I just started trapping last week, much later than I usually start (December 1).
I am wondering if other trappers in SE AK have noticed that their marten are unusually fat and healthy this winter?
I am running into what seem like good numbers of marten, and marten that are particularly fat. I assume this might be because the winter has been so warm and snow-free?? Anyone else notice anything similar?

Record rainfall for last summer but the marten didn’t care. Thick fat around the inner thighs on the males since December 12th, couldn’t get out earlier due to weather.

The overall from my take are few Yoy’s. Mostly big males carrying a good bit of fat on them. I had attributed it to the early winter storms we had, but it has remained the trend for this season.

last year i found one set of track. this year at the same places i trapped last year there was marten all over. most where fat but i have had alot of mites on just about all my marten.

I should add that they are unusually dense this year. Better than half my marten typically grade into the Semi lots. This year has the majority being heavy.

^^^^^
I noticed that also, but I just figured it's because I'm trapping late in the season this year rather than in December.

You ever notice a difference on the guardhair finish on your marten in certain years?
Some years here the marten will have a beautiful long dark shiny guard hair finish on the pelts.
Other years the guard hairs are shorter and dont cover the under fur the same,making the pelts look slightly more wooly.
Therese Demers confirmed this last time I spoke with her a few years ago,that the collection will change in fur character from year to year for some unknown reason.I believe it is probably feed related.

Therese did point that out in the NAFA booklet about marten, that it took a few thousand to get the hang of it in the finish of the pelages.

Interesting is that they lost the first copies of the pictures and had to photo shoot the next reprint, and this comment may have been striken.

What marten I caught this year were indeed nice. Numbers were down, but quality up. Most were dark, but with fur like this one.

The big mature males seem to always grade hvy where the yoy typically grade semi. Also January marten are more consistently hvy than December though colors seem to fade.

Yes I have noticed that. This season the guard hair are amazingly long and dark as you describe.

Last couple years they have had a nice finish on the guardhairs.

Last I looked marten prime in November.

Another neat marten educational thread....to add to the other one here !

Very nice info and photos.

Im waiting for input from another SE AK guy , if he wants to add his observations ....

Waggler,
There have been fat marten in every area I've trapped this year. Overall, vole numbers are below average, but Keen's Deer mice are at EXTREME abundance, and the marten seem to be capitalizing.......

As to marten priming, and HVY vs. SEMI, it all depends upon where you are trapping. In SE, marten definitely prime later than more interior regions, and have a higher percentage of SEMI in the mix. Up in the interior, and just North of the Arctic Circle, when I trapped up there, around 90% of the catch would grade HVY by November 1st, when the season opened. It was only an occasional YOY or female that would grade SEMI. Like drasselt mentioned, the YOY are commonly the bulk of the SEMI grades, in your harvest, with most of the adults, and almost all adult males being HVY. This is for interior regions. Down in the Toklat/ Teklanika area, it was around 80% HVY's, and in the SW/ Upper Kuskokwim area, I saw around 70-75% HVY's. Down in SE, there seems to be a lot more variation, with early Fall cold weather seeming to "promote" better fur growth, and diet certainly must play a part as well. I haven't been looking over the fur to close yet this season, since I've just been skinning them, and filling up the freezers, but I have finished 4 or 5 bundles. So far, my January marten are looking much nicer furred than my December marten did..... Some years here will see 50-60% HVY's, and others only 30-40%. Overall, SE marten are just generally a little more likely to fall down to the SEMI grade, with many of them right on the margin of being able to go either way. Much of the mainland in SE has better marten overall, than the islands, and areas like up Lynn Canal from Gustavus to Haines/ Skagway, and down the East side of Stephens Passage to Fredrick Sound, produces some really nice marten. Not always very easy to access them though..

I have seen some 2xl males that were so fat we brought out the 2inch pvc pipe. Very healthy in most areas, very few females getting caught.
The hot areas seem to have an overabundance of them. I moved some line to a new area and usually take the cream of the crop in 1st and 2nd check.

Last year I had an increase of stellar jays. This year the deer mice are very abundant and the red squirrels are down.
Their bellies are full of mice and shrimp tentacles (from what I can see)
Also caught two marten now with mice in their mouths on blind trail sets for mink

Such good educational info, I like to see how regions are different .

Marten can put on a lot of fat very quickly.
This is noticeable when you trap a marten that has been living in your jackpot sets for a couple days.
On the other hand,I think they will use up a fat reserve quickly if no other food is available due to their high metabolic rate.

Holy smokes! I have never seen such a fatty!

X2

^^^^^
That's what nearly all of mine look like right now. The only time I've had them look like that in the past is when they had been camped out on a beaver carcass bait pile for a while.

I skinned one today that was fatter than that, no idea what it had been eating, but it must have been eating plenty of it.

I think my marten are a bit on the obese side, since that is about average for an adult male marten around here. I know the interior marten I trapped, were always much leaner, on average. Many marten around here will have a handful of fat inside, around the intestines too, along with external fat like Boco showed, and the hides will HAVE to be fleshed, as they are covered in a layer of fat like a fat mink will be. It clings hard to the skin, in a thin layer, all around the neck, under the saddle, and around the groin area too.

T4E, same here, usually. I am 100% 120 Belisle, now, so no calorie burn after capture, but some mink I catch will just be crazy fat. Almost like a layer of gelatine.

Can any experts tell us if all these fat marten means that more embryos will implant in the pregnant female marten?

I took a few pictures of a couple fat ones, while in the fur shed tonight. Notice there is even fat between the shoulder blades, and on the inside edge of the front elbows. In the last picture, it shows the amount of internal/ intestinal fat that has accumulated on these chronic overeaters.







AV, I like those Belisle 120s too, but don't like the green belly issues they cause in our warm weather stretches.....

trapped4ever those are some fat marten, the abdominal cavity fat is just crazy. The mink I have caught didn't even have fat like your marten and my marten are fat less.

What is that you are using for a gambrell? It almost looks like a modified light fixture mounting bracket.

In late winter the females have to not be starving to implant the embryos.
I doubt that a fat marten in late winter will implant more,but there wont be the risk of a reproductive failure if they are even relatively healthy at that time.I imagine it is an all or none scenario.Gulo might have some solid input on that.
Of course with plentiful food supply more marten will survive to late winter.
So in the big picture fat martens likely mean more in the long run.

I recall reading many years ago, that in red fox, the female actually is more likely to breed successfully if she loses some body fat prior to mating. I don't know if that's true or not but.........consider Rosie O'Donnell compared to Scarlett Johansson. . Which is more likely to breed successfully ??

Some things defy the imagination ....that's a good thing !

Then how come Christie Brinkley doesn't have kids, but Rosanne Barr does?

You are funny.

My marten have not had that kind of fat on them. I only noted age group and overall size/density being a bit different.

Some people have low standards and no taste

Rosanne hung out at bars around closing time.

Christie was definitely a FOX.

Even the females are fat this season....

Is that your lure in the squid bottles? Are you saving marten glands in the containers. I admire all your marten and fur trapped4ever.

cat catcher,
The squirt bottles are for putting up fur. One is diluted bleach, for stopping bacterial action on any green belly fur, the other one is just straight water, for misting/ dampening fur. Yes, the bigger containers are for gland collection. I collect most glands, off all the species I trap. I make a lot of my own lures, and also sell/ trade some too. At times, good gland lures are THE ticket, when that territorial/ competitive reaction will kick in, on critters that are disinterested in food lure/ bait, curiousity lures, or call lures. Sometimes proper gland lures get them to take that ever important last step......

AV,
I see you asked about the gambrell. I have a few different types, for different species. When I have a pile of marten to do, I tend to use that one. It is a slotted speed gambrell, the slots are V-shaped, so the back leg joint jams in the bottom of the V, and once the animal is skinned, you just give it a flip, and both legs pop out. Quick, simple, durable, and I can stay in my chair, and not have to stand up for each animal.

Good idea. I wish I had the problem of production skinning!
Hope all is well. Watch out for these current conditions. Pretty brutal, for skiff trappers, eh?