This is not Marty, it’s her kit, her little one. If you look carefully, when the kit turns around you can see bite marks on the scruff of its neck…
I always suspected Marty had a kit in the den. The remote camera caught her making many trips back to the den with food – a gopher or a chipmunk – gripped in her teeth for the young one. Even with the added weight, her pattering feet took her swiftly along the fallen logs, bringing her home within seconds.
This patch burned recently during a wildfire. But like most wildfires, the 2020 Creek Fire left a patchwork of live trees and great snags in its wake. Several live red firs surround the red fir snag where Marty dug her way down the core of the snag, to create her den in 2024.
Apparently it was time for a lesson last night. Marty gripped the kit at the back of its neck with her teeth and growled, dragging it away from the den. Most likely that was tough love – getting the kit ready for independence… Of course the kit came back, but will grow independent soon (maybe after more lessons).
Unfortunately, there’s a clear-cut a little over 300 feet up the hill from their home. That’s a super dangerous place for a small marten interested in finding its way in the world. Hopefully this youngster will not wander uphill into the clear-cut.