The Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii ) is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe elusive Nilgiri marten is the only marten species found in India. They are deep brown from head to rump, with the forequarters being almost reddish. The bright throat ranges in color from yellow to orange. They are similar in appearance to the Yellow-throated marten but only larger and have a prominent frontal concavity.
Nilgiri martens are found in southern India. They are distributed from the Travancore Kerala, Nilgiris, Kodagu north up to the Charmadi ghats, Karnataka. Nilgiri martens live in evergreen forests and montane forest-grassland mosaics. They also occur in tea, acacia, coffee, cardamom, and wattle plantations.
Nilgiri martens are diurnal creatures. They are mainly arboreal but descend to the ground occasionally. They are social and spend their time and even hunt in groups.
Nilgiri martens are omnivorous and prey on birds, small mammals, and insects such as cicadas. They also feed on a variety of fruits and seeds.
Little is know about the mating system and reproductive behavior in Nilgiri martens.
The main threats to Nilgiri martens include habitat conversion for construction of roads and dams. These animals also suffer from persecution because they often destruct bees-box contents.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of Nilgiri martens is around 1,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are stable.
Nilgiri martens play an important role in their ecosystem: the seeds they eat as part of their varied diet are eventually dispersed throughout the forest by way of feces.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...