| Latin Name
| Conservation Status
|| East Asia
||50 cm (19.7 inches)
||20 cm (7.9 inches)
||1 - 1.5 Kgs (2.2 - 3.3 lbs)
| Life Expectancy
Japanese Martens have a body length of approximately 50 cms (19.7 inches), a tail length of around 20 cms (7.9 inches) and they weigh between 1 and 1.5 kgs (2.2 - 3.3 lbs).
They vary in colour from dark brown to a dull yellow and they have a cream coloured throat patch.
Japanese Martens can be found in the broad leaved forests of east Asia. They sleep in a den in a ground burrow or a hollow tree.
Japanese Martens feed on small birds, small mammals, fish, frogs, insects, fruit and seeds.
Japanese Martens breed from late March to mid May and they give birth between mid July and early August. They produce litters of 1 - 5 young which are blind, deaf and covered in fur at birth.
When the youngsters are between 3 and 4 months old they are able to kill their own prey and they become independent shortly after this. They reach sexual maturity at 1 - 2 years of age.
Predators of Japanese Martens are humans and domestic dogs.
Subspecies of the Japanese Marten include:
Martes melampus melampus - several Japanese islands
Martes melampus tsuensis - Tsushima Island
Martes melampus coreensis - North and South Korea