Breeding Attempts

Unlike previous years, when the male was introduced to females once evidence of estrus was visible, this year it was decided to introduce the males well in advance of this. Two separate groupings were attempted. These each involved one male with two females, as follow:

Group #1 - this included our original male (896) and one of the original females (895) which produced young in 1996. These animals were introduced to each other on July 1. On July 11, a non-related captive born female (933) was introduced to this pair.

From the onset, no aggression was noted. This group remained together until September 9, at which time the females were placed in adjoining holding cages and the male was relocated to a temporary holding cage. On September 3, female marten 895 was observed to have minor lacerations to the nape of the neck. Such injuries are consistent with mating activity. No similar lacerations were in evidence on female 933 .

Group #2 - this included captive-born male (929) and one of the original females (894) which produced young in 1996. These animals were paired on July 1. A non-related captive-born female (1029) was introduced to this group on July 11.

As with the previous group, aggression was minimal. Unfortunately this grouping terminated on July 30, when the male was found dead in the enclosure (see mortality section). Following this, females were segregated to individual compartments of the breeding enclosure. As no other males were available, another attempt at mating these females was not possible. We are unsure if any mating activity occurred during the period that the animals were together.

Other Highlights

On May 11, all four male marten were anesthesized and implanted with AVID MUSICC microchips for individual identification. At this time, animals were given a superficial medical examination and each was weighed. These animals proved to be exceptionally large, with the smallest weighing in at 1.330 kg. and the largest, one of the captive-born males, weighing in at 1.940 kg.

The need for identifying animals using transponder tags became apparent following a visual inspection of our female animals, prior to introduction of the males, which revealed that both ear-tagged females had lost their tags. These new tags are invaluable in the identification process.

The present inventory of marten at Salmonier consists of four females and one male. Two females and the male are part of the original contingent captured at Red Indian Lake in 1995, and two females are the 1996 captive-born offspring of these original females.

Collection of fecals and select video recording as part of Joel Heath's honours dissertation "Reproductive Behaviour and Seasonal Hormone Profiles of the Newfoundland Pine Marten (Martes americana atrata)" was initiated on May 15 and progressed over the summer, terminating in early September.

One noteworthy episode occurred during the fecal collection procedure. Two Memorial University students assisting in Joel's study were conducting the fecal collection on July 24 and one of the female marten escaped. This animal was subsequently recaptured three days later approximately 100 metres from the breeding compound. On a lighter note, this escape constitutes the first record of a free-ranging marten on the Avalon Peninsula during this century!

Mortality Reports

Male #932 - died June 2, 1998. In late May, this animal went off its regular feed and was then offered lab rodents. The animal was placed on a course of antibiotics, but continued to deteriorate. On June 2 the animal was found dead in its nestbox, curled in a fetal position. Body weight at time of death was 0.712 kg., down drastically from the May 11 weight of 1.330 kg. The animal was immediately packed on ice and sent by air to Veterinary Pathologist Scott McBurney at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. A conversation with Dr. McBurney on June 4 indicated no apparent cause of death. There was no indication of infectious agents; however, the animal was severely emaciated with small liver and kidneys and no food was present in the stomach or intestines. In a follow-up conversation on June 26, Dr. McBurney concluded that the cause of death was from emaciation only. Following histology, no evidence of parasites, infection or disease was determined. Dr. McBurney advised that he would have liked to have had a blood sample from the animal to acquire baseline values and to check for the presence of stress hormones. He advised however, that he did not encounter enlarged adrenal glands which is an indication of stress.

Male #930 - died June 25, 1998. In preparation of introducing a mate to the females for breeding purposes, an attempt was made to colour-mark the male for case of identification when researchers were later reviewing recorded video footage of the group. This animal was live-trapped and picric acid was painted on the tail
while the animal was restrained in the handling cone. Following this, the animal was transported in the cone by vehicle approximately one kilometre to the breeding compound for introduction to the female. Upon arrival, the animal was found to have died. Our suspicion was that this very large animal (the 1.94 kg. marten) had suffered respiratory failure due to constriction in the cone. This was substantiated in a June 26 conversation with Dr. Hugh Whitney, Chief Provincial Veterinarian, who performed a post-mortem within several hours of the animals death.

Male #929 - died July 30. This animal had been running with two females throughout July. On July 30 it was found dead in the breeding enclosure and a rectal prolapse was evident. Dr. Andrew Peacock, SNP attending veterinarian, examined the animal and submitted organ samples for histopathology at the Atlantic Veterinary College. These samples were examined and the findings were compiled by Dr. L. Miller, Pathologist, on August 7. The final diagnosis was as follows: acute, severe, transmural haemorrhage and necrosis, small intestine, focal. Lymphoid necrosis, spleen, mild, acute. Comments from the pathologist state that the marten had a vascular accident which prevented normal blood flow to the small intestine. This section of intestine may have been twisted and the resultant bacterial overgrowth within the small intestine precipitated endotoxia, resulting in death.

Infrastructure

Although all materials are on site and the foundation is complete, until recently we have been unable to commit the funds required to award a welding contract to construct the framework for this enclosure. This is the only aspect of the construction that cannot be performed in-house by our maintenance crew. Hopefully this fabrication will occur during February and March. Failing this, the work will have to be deferred until May in order to avoid any disturbance during the normal parturition month of April.

We are hopeful that we will finally be able to commit funds to the installation of an enhanced infrared lighting system which would permit the recording of quality night images in the breeding enclosure. This capacity would greatly assist with breeding strategies and any behavioural investigations at the facility.

The Future

We look forward with optimism to the possibility of producing our first litter next spring in the wake of visible evidence that female 894 has been bred. Breeding plans for 1999 will be tricky with only one male available for four females. Discussions are ongoing concerning the possibilities of acquiring an additional adult male prior to this coming summer's breeding season.

The brightest news to arise over the past year has been the interest in our captive breeding attempts shown by the Metro Toronto Zoo (MTZ), and in particular, Mr. John Carnio, the Curator of Mammals at that facility. Following initial contact with Mr. Carnio by Recovery Team Chair Joe Brazil, Mr. Carnio visited the captive breeding facility. He also gave a presentation on the Black-footed Ferret Captive Breeding Program at MTZ during the last Recovery Team meeting in November 1998.

The husbandry procedure with ferret captive breeding involves intense management, with relatively small holding areas and clinical appraisal of individuals to determine receptiveness. This differs from the traditional approach with marten, which relies on minimal disturbance, non-intervention and spacious accommodations.

However, it appears that many of the procedures used with ferrets may be adaptable to marten. Since Mr. Carnio's visit, we have entered into discussions with MTZ that will see Nature Park animal care staff train under the tutelage of the ferret breeding program staff. Funding is available in the current fiscal year to accommodate training for one of our staff. Efforts are ongoing to secure future funding to send additional staff. Likewise, it is anticipated that funding may be realized to have a MTZ ferret technician work on-site with our marten project during certain phases of the breeding period.

Mr. Carnio has provided some preliminary suggestions on revitalizing our marten breeding project. This may involve modification of existing infrastructure, additional construction and the acquisition of additional numbers of marten.

We are both excited and invigorated by this partnership. The past three years of attempts using the traditional approach to marten breeding have been invaluable in refining our marten husbandry skills, and have simultaneously demonstrated that the traditional method may not be the optimal way to produce consistent numbers of marten for reintroduction. The pooling of resources between our facilities is a vital next step in realizing our eventual goal.

During this winter, we will be working toward the development of a precise plan for the Captive Breeding Program. At this time, we hope to formally and realistically define the role and objectives of our Captive Breeding Program within the context of the Newfoundland Marten Recovery Plan.