Highlights

This past year has evidenced our first successful captive births after three years of attempts. Considering that our breeding component consisted of only one male to four females, this was a very fortunate occurrence.

In an effort to achieve a more desirable male to female breeding ratio in future attempts, two wild males were acquired from western Newfoundland in June.

Another noteworthy event was the release of Joel Heath’s Honors Thesis on reproductive behaviour and seasonal hormone profiles of Newfoundland Marten. Joel’s data was accumulated during 1998 from the animals of the captive breeding program. Joel has submitted an article from this work for publication in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.

During the year, we were fortunate to be offered a training session at Toronto Zoo with their Black-footed Ferret breeding program, courtesy of Mr. John Carnio. This was a very rewarding session and we have adapted some of their ferret procedures into our program.

We have also had the good fortune of communicating with Dr. Kirsti Rouvinen, and her student Cheryle MacRae of the marten breeding program at the Fur Unit of Nova Scotia Agricultural College. This facility has developed a renown for its success in captive breeding marten, and more closely resembles our project in scope than any other that we are aware of.

Also in 1999, we were visited by COSEWIC representative Theresa Aniskowicz-Fowler, who toured the marten project in preparation for writing an article on the project for Nature Canada.

Marten Births

On April 5, a nestbox video surveillance camera revealed the presence of kits with female 895. This animal had previously produced a litter of three kits here in 1996 (from a wild mating). This animal had been run with our original adult male 896 commencing July 1. On July 11, a second female (933) was introduced to this pair. Following the rut, in September 1998, female 895 had displayed superficial neck lacerations consistent with mating activity.

Recorded video footage confirmed the presence of three kits. A freak spring lightning storm on April 9 knocked out the camera system. As a consequence, we were unable to determine when and how one kit was lost. On July 9, both remaining kits were removed from the female so that she could be paired with a male. On the following day, one of these female kits died. Currently, the remaining kit is healthy and will likely be incorporated in breeding attempts in future years.

Breeding Attempts

To avoid genetic degradation, the male of the successful breeding pair was not paired with the same female this year. Instead, he was introduced on June 18 to our other previously successful female breeder, #894. The mother of this years litter was paired on July 9 with a wild male (#1372) trapped on June 25 at White’s River, along Little Barachois Brook. The other wild male, also trapped along Little Barachois Brook, (Nolan’s Road) was introduced to captive-born female #1029, also on July 9. These animals were not aged, however due to their large sizes and weights at capture time, we are assuming them to be adults, capable of breeding.

One female (#933) was not paired due to the lack of a male. In previous years, one male was ran with several females. This is not recommended, and successful marten breeders (notably Nova Scotia Agricultural College) are maintaining a 1:1 breeding ratio. Two marten pairs co-habited uneventfully until September 13 when they were separated. The senior animal keeper reported that of all pairings, marten 1373 and 1029 appeared to be the most compatible.

The third pair, our proven male and female 894, were separated on September 1 after a superficial foot laceration was observed on the female. This animal was placed on a one week course of antibiotics and made a complete recovery.

Mortalities

On July 9, prior to introducing a male marten to female 895, her two surviving kits were removed. On the following morning, one of the kits was found in a moribund condition. It died later that day. Post-mortem results indicated death by bacterial pneumonia. The pathologist speculated that the stress of removing the kit likely aggravated an existing sub-clinical disease (the pneumonia), causing it to become acute and fatal. This is yet another example of a sudden mortality seemingly exacerbated by stress, and lends support to our policy of minimal handling and disturbance of our animals.

Infrastructure

Last fall, Park maintenance staff completed the pre-release conditioning enclosure to a stage where it can accommodate marten. Early in the next construction season fine mesh screening will be acquired and installed to allow us to simultaneously hold free-ranging lab rodents in the enclosure. During last year we also expanded on our marten video surveillance system. Two cameras were installed in the pre-release pen, with the capacity to add two more. Our overall system was upgraded by multiplexing. This will allow us to simultaneously monitor and record up to twelve cameras at once.

In future, we hope to acquire an infrared lighting system that will permit us to record all night activity in the two enclosures.

We continue to be plagued by lightning-related damage to our camera system. In addition to the inconvenience of loss of video contact with our animals, we must direct our limited finances to repairs, rather than adding to the system. We have initiated a shutdown procedure in the event of a forecasted lightning storm, however our system is at the mercy of the elements in relation to unexpected electrical storms. It appears that the only permanent solution is a sizeable investment in a lightning protection system.

In anticipation of future recruitment, we have also constructed an additional six temporary holding cages. These provide quarters for males when they are not with females in the breeding cage and also function as housing for weaned young. These additional cages provide us with accommodations for twelve animals in addition to the four females permanently housed in the breeding enclosure. Eight of these cages are now vacant, and are in readiness for potential young in the coming season.

The Future

Any breeding success that we experience in the upcoming season will likely chart the course that our program will follow in the foreseeable future. Young animals will be assessed as to their suitability for release or candidacy in the breeding program, based foremost on genetic considerations. Once a sufficient roster of captive breeders has been acquired, we hope to be in a position of being able to fulfill the ambition of the Recovery Plan to stock marten offspring in suitable sites in the wild.

In the event that we are unsuccessful in producing the necessary breeding roster from our existing inventory, consideration will have to be given to acquiring additional wild animals. Indeed, the overall objective of this program and what is expected of it in terms of the recovery of this species must be solidified.

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