American Marten in the snow. Canyon Village, Yellowstone National Park, was the home to this female American Marten. This snow pile was in fact on the lid of a dumpster (skip) which the Pine Marten was using as its den. It would frequently appear as out of nowhere and scan around before heading into the trees. It was a very active little animal. Seeing an American Marten in the snow on such a regular basis was a treat. The male would occasionally make a very brief appearance.
American Martens (also confusingly call Pine Martens) are cat-sized animals with along, dark chestnut-brown fur with a distinctive creamy-yellow throat. Their bushy tail is about half the length of the body. Male American Martens can with up to 1.4kg and be about 0.7m long. Males are about 15% larger than females but 65% heavier.