Also known as Mink, Marten, Red Mink and Grand Foliate, it belongs to the Mustelidae family of Carnivora order. Its Latin scientific name is Martes zibillina, and English name is Sable.
Its body is slender, with four stout limbs, and the body shape is like yellow weasel but slightly larger. The male is generally larger than the female. It has five toes with sharp and bent claws. Its ears are large and erect, slightly triangular-shaped. The tail hair is tousy. Its body color is black brown, slightly mixed with white acicular hair; and the head is light grayish brown, with the ear brim spotted with white color. It has yellow or yellowish white larynx spots. Thei chest has tan hair, while the belly is in lighter color. Its winter pelt is of top quality due to its dense, rich and generous fuzz, and also because of the cutis plate with good elasticity.
It lives in coniferous forestss or mixed broadleaf-conifer forests in sub-frigid zone, mostly building nests in tree holes or on stone heaps. Except mating time, it mostly lives alone, with acute sight and audition, as well as quick action. Once astonished, it will instantly disappear in the woods. Feed on mini-type rodent, avifauna, pine nuts, wild fruits, and bird ova, it regularly looks for food at night on the ground or under snow; when there is a food shortage, it also come out in daytime for hunting. Its range of movement is within 5 to 10 square kilometers. The estrous period is from April to May every year, and the gestation period lasts 9 to 10 month. It has 2 to 4 babies per fetus, and grows to sexual maturity at the age of 3. Its main natural enemy is Yellow-throated Martens and birds of prey.
Sable isdistributed in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
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