Age of the pine marten

Here we explain how long the pine marten lives and how its life expectancy changes with age.

Pine marten: what is it like

European pine martens typically live from 18 to 30 years, with a maximum recorded lifespan of 18 years and 3 months, and a theoretical lifespan ranging from 7 years and 2 months to 29 years and 9 months. The species reaches sexual maturity from 11 months and 2 weeks to 1 year and 7 months. A pine marten's young have their eyes open from 3 weeks to 1 month and 1 week; during the embryonic stage, the embryo develops inside the mother’s body, with the entire gestation period lasting up to nine months due to delayed implantation. The newborn is blind and hairless, remaining sheltered while drinking its mother’s milk and growing rapidly during a period of from 1 month and 2 weeks to 3 months. Subsequently, the species enters the adult stage, lasting from 1 to 10 years, during which time it hunts independently, climbs trees, and defends its territory.

Mass
1657–1660 g
Length
400–600 mm
Lifespan
6562–10937 days 18–30 years
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european-pine-marten
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european pine marten
Martes martes
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The forest marten is a small predatory animal from the marten family. It has a long flexible body, fluffy tail, and a yellow spot on the throat that helps distinguish it from other martens.
The forest marten differs from the stone marten by its fluffier fur and a yellow spot on the throat instead of white. It is important for forest nature because it regulates the population of rodents and small animals.
tree hunting
trophic:carnivore
feeding_timing:nocturnal
#fafafa
Maturity
342–570 days 11 months 2 weeks – 1 year 7 months
Lifespan maximum
6648 days 18 years 3 months
Theoretical lifespan
2612–10852 days 7–30 years
Duration (young)
53.1–64.9 days 2 months
Duration (embryo)
200–270 days 7–9 months
Duration (adult carnivoran)
365–3650 days 1–10 years
Age (embryo)
21–35 days 3 weeks – 1 month 1 week
Age (juvenile)
491 days 1 year 4 months
Age (from birth to death)
2612–10852 days 7–30 years
6562.316557829995
10937.19426304999
2611.5375
10851.960820879985
400.0
600.0
1657.3050742182986
1659.6364789329587
The marten molts twice a year: in spring the fur becomes lighter, and in autumn — thick and warm for winter.
-1
-1
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
Tail size
Were {name} like {animal}, then:
birth time
vertebrates
breeding
pursuit
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
nest inside a tree trunk or in a cave/crevice, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult carnivoran
Maturity
Melon
invertebrates
insects
About health
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
rodents in general — rats, squirrels, ground squirrels
Repro interval
results
Eyes count
summer warm, winter not very cold
fur
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
Tail count
Palearctic realm
den
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
protection
nest inside a tree trunk or in a cave/crevice
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Height
rains almost always, very humid
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
in hollows and caves
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Fruit
berries
More:
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
animals with backbone
Business sausages
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
birds
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
juicy berries — bilberry, rowan, rosehip
Lots of rain and cool summer
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
Claws count
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Claws size
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
Tail color
Flooded grasslands
drink mother's milk in childhood
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Share
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
whiskers
Where are they found?
from 0.8 to 1.2 kilograms, 0.6 – 1.2 meters
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
normal sexual
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
rivers and streams
if born as {name}
caring mother
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
Actively chases and captures mobile prey in open space.
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
rest
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
nocturnal
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
land
{name} birthday
grass
Link copied
No results found
live birds
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
Female ♀
all life stages
rodents
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0 Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
bird eggs
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
young
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
berries
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
rodents
Temperate mixed forest
tree hunting
Duration
live insects
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Foraging activity occurs primarily during nighttime hours.
Always very wet
Gamers
Teeth count
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
active predation
Who among us will transform as if by magic and become like {animal}?
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
flowing fresh waters — rivers, streams, mountain torrents
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
eggs
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
arboreal
Observations
◉{N} more on tap
young
pupa
imago
adolescent
adolescent
european-pine-marten
lesnaya-kunitsa
mes-d-l-si
khz-awrwby
lyasnaya-kunitsa
antarayin-kzak-is
matsuten
t-q-is-k-verna
lesnaya-kunitsa
yuleobsoldambi
lesnaya-kunitsa
kuna-zlatitsa
european-pine-marten
lesnaya-kunitsa
song-diao