Pine marten are not the kind of animal you'll likely see crossing the road, or even while hiking. They are wary, agile, and fierce members of the weasel family that live throughout the northern woods. Scott and Jill decided to make some fun out of his contract job with the DNR; a reintroduction program for pine marten in Northwest Wisconsin. Scott baited the marten in a series of traps where they were captured unharmed. He held them in his garage for a couple days, feeding them meat, until they were carted off to Wisconsin by the biologist.
The scenario, if you aren't from Minnesota, does seem a bit odd. Even more so when a bunch of people make a weekend out of it. But it did afford us the opportunity to get up close to a rarely seen animal.
They may seem cute, but like almost all wildlife, they can be frightnengly vicious. They were fast as mongoose, causing us to jump back when they lunged at our fingers through. There growl is like a miniature, high pitched roar. And the way they could twist and turn their bodies in the cages seemed almost serpentine.
It was a Minnesota moment to say the least. Scott and friends shot enough grouse for all of us to have a feast. The birds were fresh, the wild rice was hand harvested, and I made some pumpkin pie from WI pumpkins. You'd be hard pressed to have a more local meal.
