A particularly high number of marten damages are reported during mating season, because martens leave their territory and go looking for a partner. You can find out exactly how reproduction works in martens and what the closed season is all about here.
When and how do martens reproduce?
The mating season of martens takes place in midsummer, around the end of July to the end of August. Martens mate several times within 48 hours and the fertilized egg goes into dormancy, so visible pregnancy does not begin until January. Young martens are born at the beginning of March.
When is mating season?
The mating season for martens is in midsummer: things get busy from the end of July to the end of August. Marten martens that have not had any young this year are ready to mate from June onwards. Marten martens with young are still busy rearing in June, because marten cubs are dependent on their mother for six months!
Excursus
Marten damage to the car
When looking for a mate, martens like to spend the night in warm engine compartments. But another marten has often slept here. The strange marten smells this and becomes aggressive, whereupon it angrily bites into cables and hoses.
How do martens reproduce?
Martens show endurance when reproducing: the mating act can last over 48 hours, during which the partners mate several times. After fertilization, the egg cell goes dormant for several months, so that the female marten is not visibly pregnant until the beginning of the next year. Just a month later, three to four cubs are born at the beginning of March.
sexual maturity
Martens are sexually mature at just one year old. Marten flies mark their readiness to mate with scent trails.
closed season
There is a closed season for stone martens in all federal states, which usually lasts from the beginning of March to mid-October. The main purpose of the closed season is to protect marten cubs who would starve if their mother were caught. But the time of reproduction also falls into the closed season.
