Interesting facts about sable. Sable: description and care of the animal

The color of the skin is variable, and its variations have special names. The “head” is the darkest (almost black) and the most expensive. “Fur” - the color is very light, sandy yellow or fawn - the cheapest. Intermediate colors: “collar” - brown in tone with a dark stripe on the back, lighter sides and a large bright throat patch.

Lifestyle

A typical inhabitant of the Siberian taiga. Agile and very strong predator for its size. Leads a terrestrial lifestyle. Moves by jumping. The tracks are paired large prints measuring from 5x7 to 6x10 cm. The length of the jump is 30-70 cm. It climbs trees well, but does not “ride.” Has well-developed hearing and sense of smell, but vision is weaker. The voice is a purr, like a cat's. Walks easily on loose snow. It is most active in the morning and evening. As a rule, it lives in cedar trees, in the upper reaches of mountain rivers, close to the ground - in thickets of elfin wood, among stone placers, and occasionally rises into the crowns of trees. A solitary hunter. Does not tolerate stoats on its territory.

Nutrition

The diet is dominated by mouse-like rodents, mainly the red-backed vole (red-gray in the south). To the east of the Yenisei and in the Sayan Mountains, the pika plays an important role in nutrition. Often eats squirrels and attacks hares. Exterminating several million squirrels in the region every year, the sable steadily restrains the growth of its population. Of the birds, the sable most often attacks hazel grouse and wood grouse, but in general birds are a secondary food source.

The sable is active at dusk, at night, but often hunts during the day. An individual sable hunting area ranges from 150-200 hectares to 1500-2000 hectares, sometimes more.

Willingly eats plant foods. Favorite foods are pine nuts, rowan berries, and blueberries. Willingly eats lingonberries, blueberries, bird cherry, rose hips, and currants.

Reproduction

Nesting shelters are in hollows of fallen and standing trees, in stone deposits, under roots. Pupping in the north in the first half of May, in the south in April. The animals reach sexual maturity at the age of two to three years and reproduce until they are 13-15 years old. Mating in June - July, pregnancy 250-290 days. There are from one to seven puppies in a litter, usually 3-4. Molting ends in mid-October.

Spreading

Currently, sable is found throughout the taiga part of Russia from the Urals to the Pacific coast north to the limits of forest vegetation. Prefers dark coniferous, cluttered taiga, especially loves cedar trees. Also found in Japan, on the island of Hokkaido. In the eastern Urals, a hybrid of sable and marten, called kidus, is sometimes found.

Fishing

The total autumn number in 1973 was about two hundred thousand, and according to an estimate in 1961 - 296 thousand. By the 30s of the 20th century, the sable was almost completely exterminated within the Krasnoyarsk Territory and remained here in small numbers in a few isolated areas areas. Later, as a result of conservation measures, the number was restored to its original level in the 17th century. In 1961-1963. The number of sable in the region reached its maximum. Then, as a result of overhunting in many places, sable stocks began to decline, and a situation was created that threatened the successful development of hunting, which has not been corrected to this day. We accept the following approximate estimate of the number of sables: many - more than 25 sables per 100 km²; average - 12-25; little - less than 12; rare - singular. Sometimes there is a gradation - a lot - more than 50, but with such a density, the sable, as a rule, inhabits only isolated areas, and not large areas.

The current distribution and state of sable resources in the region is as follows (Numerov, 1958, 1973; Lineytsev and Melnikov, 1971, etc.):

The mountain taiga of the Sayan and Kuznetsk Alatau is inhabited by sable with the highest density for the region. On average, there are “a lot” of sables everywhere, and “a lot” in large areas in the cedar forests. The population density in grassy and mossy pine forests reaches 150 and even 200 per 100 km². These are the maximum figures for the country. After 1964, numbers and production here begin to decline as a result of intensive overfishing. Maximum seasonal harvest of skins for 1960-1970. was 18 thousand, and in 1973-1974. it decreased to 5.1 thousand. In a fifth of the territory, the sable is completely wiped out, and in general in the region the number is half the capacity of the land.

The central densely populated region includes highway and forest-steppe areas and the Chulym basin. Here, in mixed forests, taiga islands and in the subtaiga landscape, sable was in places numerous and widespread. In general, in the early 60s, its population here was 20-25 thousand, and the maximum harvest of pelts reached 8.5 thousand. As a result of excessive hunting by a large army of amateur hunters, in most areas the sable was completely killed. Its total number does not exceed 4-6 thousand, and the harvesting of skins in 1973-1974. amounted to only 1 thousand pieces.

In the southern taiga, which includes the Angara region and almost the entire Yenisei region, there are “many” sables in dark coniferous areas, and “average” numbers in light coniferous areas. Here, starting in 1968, there also began a sharp decline in harvesting, and then a decrease in the number of animals as a result of overfishing. In four Angara regions, harvests from a maximum of 10.5 thousand decreased to 4.5 thousand. In the middle taiga, there are “many” sables only in certain areas with dark coniferous lands (Baykitsky district, Yenisei taiga in the Turukhansky district). In other areas the number is “average”, and in large areas it is “small”.

In a typical northern taiga, the numbers are mainly “medium” and “small”. In the middle and northern taiga, only in Evenkia there is no overfishing (land development is 80%), and the volume of production is approaching the size of the increase, that is, normal use. In the Turukhansk region, production is also close to normal, but in areas near the Yenisei and on Bakhta, overfishing is already observed. Harvesting decreased, but not as sharply as further south: in Evenkia - from 26 to 22 thousand skins. In the extreme northern taiga, sable is rare everywhere, with the exception of some lake basins, but the area of ​​good taiga areas in the basins is negligible. Sables also occasionally settle in the forest-tundra: on the Yenisei to Potapov and Nikolsky, in the east to Kotuikan on the river. Kotuy and R. Fomich, a tributary of Popigaya.

Consequently, in the southern part of the region, in the best lands, the situation with sable farming is completely unfavorable. The sable population is rapidly declining. Harvesting has sharply decreased due to the large leakage of skins to the “black market”, as well as due to the extermination of sables. The process of trouble is developing. In the sable business, fatal “scissors” emerge: the more skins go to the side, the more tense the situation becomes with the implementation of planned tasks on farms, and the more the fishing pressure increases.

In the near future, we can expect a reduction in resources in the northern regions and a general decline in the sable business. It is necessary to take urgent measures to limit production and especially to stop the leakage of skins, that is, to eliminate poaching.

Barguzin sable

Before deep snow falls, sables are hunted with huskies. Later they switch to self-catchers, mainly traps, and partly bags. Evenks often hunt on reindeer. The blanket is used very rarely. The usual seasonal catch for a fisherman in good areas is 40-50 sables. Some hunters harvest 70-80 and even 100-140 sables.

Because of its beautiful, durable and expensive fur, sable is called the king of wild furs - “soft gold”. The darker the sable, the more valuable its skin is. Barguzin sable, which lives in the Baikal forests, is the darkest sable found in Siberia and is therefore especially prized at international fur auctions. The largest researcher of the nature of the Barguzin sable is the Russian scientist E. M. Chernikin.

The most important game species of the region is the basis for the well-being of commercial hunting in the taiga zone. The Krasnoyarsk Territory produces about 33% of the all-Russian sable production and is in first place in this regard. Sable is found not only in Russia, but also in the neighboring countries of North Korea, Mongolia and China. After Russia abandoned its state monopoly on fur harvesting in 1997, extraction and harvesting largely passed into private hands.

Heraldry

The image of a sable is found on the coats of arms of cities and regions.

Notes

Scientific literature

• Monakhov Vladimir G. Martes zibellina (Carnivora: Mustelidae). Mammalian Species 2011: Volume 43, Issue 1: pp. 75 – 86.
• Proulx G., Aubry K., Birks J., Buskirk S., Fortin C., Frost H., Krohn W., Mayo L., Monakhov V., Payer D., Saeki M., Santos-Reis M., Weir R., and Zielinski W. World distribution and status of the Genus Martes in 2000. Pages 21-76 in Harrison, D.J.; Fuller, A.K.; Proulx, G. (Eds.). Martens and fishers (Martes) in human-altered environments: An international perspective. Springer Science+Business Media Publishers, New York. 2004.
• Monakhov G.I., Kryuchkov V.S., Monakhov V.G., Shurygin V.V. Results of the introduction of East Siberian Sables in Yenisei Siberia and the Vasyugan River basin // Commercial Terriology. M.: Nauka, 1982. P.136-148.
• Monakhov V. , Ranyuk M. Phänetische Analyse der Innenartveränderlichkeit des Zobels Martes zibellina (MAMMALIA, CARNIVORA), nach dem Komplex von nonmetrischen Schädelsmerkmalen. Bulletin of Zoology (Kyiv). 2010. Volume 44. No. 5. P. 445-454.
• Monakhov V. Veranderlichkeit von Korpermassen in introduzierten Biberpopulationen Osteuropas. Beitraege zur Jagd- und Wildforschung, 2010 (35). pp. 259-267.
• Monakhov V.G. Dynamics of the size and phenetic structure of the sable in its range - Ekaterinburg: [Publishing House of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences], 2006. - 201 p.
• Chernikin E. M. Ecology of sable (Martes zibellina Linneus, 1758) in the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve - Ulan-Ude: Buryat Publishing House. State University, 2006. - 265 p.
• Monakhov V.G. Economic efficiency of reacclimatization work on sable in Yenisei Siberia //Acclimatization of game animals in the USSR. Minsk: Harvest, 1978. P.114-116.
• Monakhov V.G. Economic efficiency of introduction work on sable // Enrichment of fauna and hunting breeding. animals. - Kirov, 1982. P.94-95.
• Monakhov V.G. Age structure of sable populations // Zool. and. 1983. T.62, issue 9. pp. 1398-1406.
• Monakhov V.G. The state of sable populations in the Northern Trans-Urals, their use and ways to rationalize fishing // Sat. "Protection and rational use of sable resources" M., 1983. P. 51-84.
• Monakhov V.G. Experience of cadastral characteristics of sable of the Urals and Ob region // Sat. "All-Union Meeting on the Problems of Cadastre and Fauna Registration", vol. 2, M., 1986, pp. 357-358.
• Monakhov V.G. Reproduction rates of Trans-Ural sables as a basis for planning their production//Sb. "Ecological regulation of fur-bearing animals", Kirov, 1990. pp. 4-9.
• Monakhov V.G. Reproductive process in sable populations of the Urals and Ob region // Life of populations in a heterogeneous environment. Part 2. Yoshkar-Ola: Mari El Periodicals, 1998. pp. 118-124. (1999).
• Monakhov V.G. Craniometric variability of sable in connection with reacclimatization // Zoological Journal, 1999, volume 78, no. 2, p. 260-265.
• Monakhov V.G. Population analysis of the sable population in the Ural-Ob part of the range // Ecology. 2000. No. 6. P. 456-462.
• Monakhov V.G. Age structure and biotopic distribution of sables in the river basin. Vakh // Siberian ecological journal. 2001. No. 1. P. 87-92.
• Monakhov V.G. Reproductive core in sable populations. Martes Working Group Newsletter. 2001. 9(1). P. 6.
• Monakhov V.G. Phenetic analysis of native and introduced sable populations in Russia // Genetics. 2001. 37 (9). pp. 1281-1289.
• Monakhov V.G. Morphogenetische Analyse autochthoner und introduzierter Populationen von Zobeln in Russland // Beitraege zur Jagd- und Wildforschung, 2001 (26). S. 299-308.
• Monakhov V.G. Assessment of the age structure of sable samples using three methods for determining age // Ecology, 2004. No. 6. P. 430-435.
• Monakhov V.G. On changes in the properties of the fur of Barguzin sables after introduction to the Ob region. // Protection and rational use of animal and plant resources. Irkutsk: IrGSHA, 2005. pp. 260-265.
• Monakhov, V.G. Age distribution in sable Martes zibellina populations / Abh. Ber. Naturkundemus. Gorlitz, 2005, Band 76, Heft 2. S. 135-150.
• Monakhov V.G. On changes in the reproductive cycle of sable populations in the Trans-Urals at the end of the twentieth century. Siberian ecological journal. 2007. No. 4. P. 635-637.
• Monakhov V.G. Is sexual dimorphism variable? Facts on the Urals species of the genus Martes. News of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Ser. biol. 2009. No. 1. P. 55-63.
• Monakhov V.G. Phenogeography of the cranial character of the sable in its range // Reports of the Academy of Sciences, 2010, volume 431, no. 2. pp. 274-279.
• Monakhov V.G. On cases of sable hunting outside the range in the south of the Sverdlovsk region in the winter of 2009/2010. // Zoological Journal. 2010. Vol. 89. No. 11. pp. 1394–1397.
• Ranyuk M.N., Monakhov V.G. Variability of craniological characters in sable populations that arose as a result of acclimatization. Zool. Magazine. 2011. T. 90. V. 1. P. 82-96.
• Monakhov V.G. Selective prey as a destructive factor in the exploited sable population // Reports of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2012. volume 443, no. 2, p. 265–269.
• Monakhov V.G. Age-related changes in size sexual dimorphism in sable in nature and captivity // Ontogenesis. 2012. No. 4. (in litt.)

Links

• Sable ( Martes Zibellina) on the website of the DCC Sobol nursery. (Russian)

Categories:

• Animals in alphabetical order
• Species out of danger
• Musteluns
• Mammals of Asia
• Animals described in 1758
• Non-heraldic figures

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Sable” is in other dictionaries:

Husband. sable, a predatory animal Mustela zibelina, one of the most valuable Siberian furs. Sable is selected by magpies, 40 sables are fur, chemises; paired sable, on collars and lapels; one, the most valuable, with a black lobe (awn) and blue... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Andrei Mikhailovich (1888 1926) writer. Born into the family of a small employee. From the age of 14 he was a tramp. Since 1904, a member of the group of “Zionist Socialists”. In 1906 he was sentenced to 4 years of hard labor. In prison he became close to the Left Social Revolutionaries. In 1909 he ran for... ... Literary encyclopedia

Sable- Martes zlbellina see also 3.4.2. Genus Martens Martes Sable Martes zlbellina (Table 12) Body length 35-53 cm, short tail (10-20 cm), fluffy. Coloration from yellow-fawn to dark brown, with dark tail and legs, light head. Occasionally... ... Animals of Russia. Directory

There is an animal in the forest whose coat is so beautiful that it almost killed its owner. So, today - an amazing animal of the taiga, the sable. The photos and videos provided by us will help you find out what kind of animal this is, where it lives and what it eats. And why is his fur coat so prized?

The famous "Russian" sable

A sweet, pointed muzzle with a touching expression in its small eyes - and a sharp contrast with the character and habits of a predatory, dexterous animal. All this is sable.

Russian sable – this is what this mammal of the mustelid family is sometimes called, because it lives in large quantities only in Russia. Occasionally found in northern Korea, China, and the island of Hokkaido. Habitat: dark coniferous taiga and forest zone from the Urals to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It can be found especially often in cedar forests.

Appearance and lifestyle

The animal is small, squat, with short legs, a little more than half a meter. But at the same time it looks slender and graceful. The fluffy tail is approximately 20 cm. The color of the fur is all shades of yellow-brown and black. They even call animals differently.

Lives mainly on the ground, stays in the thickets, but is excellent at climbing trees for prey. The sable almost does not walk, but runs quickly and moves deftly in jumps up to 70 cm long. The paws at the bottom are widened, which makes it easy to walk on loose snow and not fall through.

Not very good eyesight is compensated by excellent hearing and sense of smell.

He leads a sedentary lifestyle almost his entire life, leaving his native places only in the event of fires or a complete lack of food. It tries to stay in damp, dark forests, where it finds shelter and builds a nest under the roots of a tree, dead wood or in an old, low-lying hollow.

The sounds produced are varied: usually similar to a soft rumbling, in case of danger - like a chirping, and during the period of courtship, the sable seems to meow.

Like all martens, the rut occurs in the summer, but throughout the winter the pregnancy seems to “freeze” for 8–9 months. And only in April 4–6 heads are born in a brood. Completely naked, helpless and blind, they feed only on mother's milk for up to one month.

At the age of one and a half months, they begin to be fed meat, and after two months they already feed on their own. Then the family breaks up, the sables begin to live separately, but they will become fully adults only after a year.

What do sables eat?

A sable in the forest is like a pike in a river: it will not let either the animal or the little bird doze off. This predator feeds on any rodents, but prefers mice, hunts chipmunks, etc. It is by the behavior of squirrels that hunters know whether there is a sable in the forest or not. If the squirrels are not visible, they do not descend to the ground, and do not leave tracks in the snow, then you can safely go sable hunting.

He loves to feast on bird eggs, and he is not afraid to attack the birds themselves, most often wood grouse. A capercaillie sits under the snow at night, and neither sleep nor the spirit senses that his enemy, the sable, is sneaking from above. Thanks to its sensitive nose, the sable finds a sleeping capercaillie in a hole and quickly rushes. And now the snow is like a fountain all around, the wings are flapping, but it is useless to break free: the sable is already sitting on top of the bird.

The sable also eats plant foods - these are various fruits and pine nuts. In winter, it digs out the remaining berries from under the snow. It feeds at any time of the day, but more often in the morning or evening.

Why is sable valued?

Sable has long been famous throughout the world for its valuable and elegant fur. Russian tsars, presenting sable skins as gifts to the rulers of other states, resolved many diplomatic issues. Fur coats made from sable really looked luxurious and royal.

The sable (Martes zibellina) is a dexterous and strong animal with valuable fur, a representative of the mustelid family. This predator is a typical inhabitant of mountain and lowland taiga. Leads a sedentary, solitary lifestyle in a chosen area; in case of danger, it can move to other territories. The closest relative of the sable is the pine marten.

Appearance and description of sable

The sable's body is elongated, slender and flexible. These predators grow to 40-60 centimeters in length and weigh about 2 kilograms. Male sables are usually larger than females. The highly bushy tail makes up one third of the animal's body length.

The sable's head is wedge-shaped and visually looks large. The animal's muzzle is pointed, its triangular-shaped ears are large with a wide base, and its neck is long and thin. The sable's paws are wide in shape, but relatively short, which is why the animal's back has a characteristic convexity.

The color of the sable skin is variable and depends on the season. In winter, the fur is a little lighter, in summer it is several shades darker. The color varies from light brown to almost black; the animals have a small light yellow spot on their chest. The brown color becomes darker on the sable's paws. In winter, fur covers the animal's paw pads and even its claws. The animal's fur is soft, dense and warm, and therefore is of particular value.

Distribution area of ​​the sable

Typical - taiga of Eurasia. These animals are distributed from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific coast. The main part of the territory where sables live belongs to Russia. Also, animals with valuable fur can be found in Northern China and Mongolia, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and in North Korea.

Sables live in the mountain and lowland taiga. They find suitable shelters in cluttered forests where fir, cedar, and spruce trees grow. Sometimes deciduous forests are also chosen to make burrows. In mountainous areas, animals live in bushes, near kurums - rocky placers. They often choose remote and wild places to live, but they can also settle close to villages.

Predators make shelter in rock crevices and hollows of fallen old trees, using the voids under the roots. The inside of their home is lined with dry leaves or grass; the toilet is arranged separately from the main nesting chamber, but quite close to the hole.

Sable food in the wild

Almost all rodents, but they prefer mice and shrews, they often hunt pikas and chipmunks, and they can feast on bird eggs. Large males often hunt hares and try to catch musk deer - taiga deer. Carnivores consume protein extremely rarely. Among the birds the sable preys on are partridges, black grouse, wood grouse, and small passerines. However, in the sable's diet, birds are a secondary food.

In winter, when food is difficult to obtain, these predators feed on carrion. When a large animal dies, temporary shelters are even set up close to the sable carcass, narrowing the range of movement from the hole to the feeding area.

They love to eat sable and plant foods - pine pine seeds (pine nuts), lingonberries, blueberries, and enjoy eating blueberry and rowan fruits.

During snowy seasons, animals eat plant foods even more often than they catch rodents. Under a thick ball of snow, sables perfectly sense the resinous smell of pine nuts. In the winter season, it is easier to dig them out under the snow than to catch, for example, a vole.

If an animal with valuable fur lives near a large river, in the summer it usually waits for fish to spawn. These predatory mammals do not know how to fish, but they will not refuse prey washed ashore.

An incredibly tasty treat for all sables is honey from wild bees. When an animal finds a bee hollow, over time it will definitely empty it and eat not only the honey, but also the bees themselves.

Lifestyle of a sable in the wild

Sables are agile and quite strong predators for their size. They lead a terrestrial lifestyle and are most active in the evening and morning, but can hunt at any time of the day. Since sables are active mainly at night, they sleep during the day. Animals with valuable fur prefer to move on the ground; they go into water or into trees only in case of danger.

In search of food, the sable runs about 3-4 kilometers per day. In winter, this distance can increase to 10 kilometers, when in search of food the animal is forced to lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle. In lean years, even in summer, sables are forced to run from 10 to 20 kilometers to find suitable food.

Sables mark their territory, within which they hunt for a long period of time. If there is enough food in the selected area, predators find shelter and set up several temporary burrows. In permanent homes they survive the winter and raise their offspring. Sables do not dig shelters on their own, but find suitable holes and settle there. These animals are not too concerned about hiding their home from prying eyes; often their location reveals a huge number of paw prints. An individual sable plot can cover an area of ​​150 to 2000 hectares. Apart from the breeding season, these predatory mammals lead a solitary lifestyle. The animals mark their areas with gland secretions.

In winter, the animals move under the snow and may not come to the surface for weeks. Sables build long tunnels in the thick snow and specially dig approaches to their shelters. Thanks to their wide paws, they can easily walk on loose snow. If another predator is hunting the animal, the sable will deliberately run away along impassable paths to save its skin. The sable immediately expels foreign males, especially weasels and stoats, from its territories.

Animals with valuable fur do not climb trees very well, but they can jump from one to another nearby tree. Sables are not excellent swimmers, and therefore they try to avoid water. But these animals have well-developed hearing and sense of smell; they can smell prey even under a thick ball of snow. Sables have poor eyesight, and their voice resembles that of a kitten.

The molting of animals ends in mid-October - sables change their skins to winter ones.

Natural enemies of sable

Not a single animal or bird hunts sables for food. However, the predator has two main food competitors - stoats and weasels. It is with them that the sable has to share mouse-like rodents. If during the hunt the animal encounters one of its competitors, it may even leave the prey in wait to deal with its unwanted neighbor.

The main risk group among sables includes young individuals and old animals that have lost their former speed of movement. They can become victims of almost any predator larger than them. Young sables are threatened by eagles, hawks, owls and other birds of prey.

Sable breeding

The false rut in sables begins in February-March, but mating occurs in June-July. Pregnancy of females is characterized by a long latent phase of development, lasting approximately 250-290 days (9-10 months).

The female mates with only one male sable. He does not leave the “lady” until she herself drives him away. If several males claim one female at once, fierce fights occur. As a result, the winning sable moves away with the female away from its rivals.

Female sables make nesting shelters for the birth of babies in stone placers, in the hollows of low standing and fallen trees, under the roots of bushes, and sometimes in earthen burrows. Inside, the expectant mother lines the nest with soft grass, moss or hay, and the hair of eaten rodents.

From 1 to 7 puppies are born in a litter, usually 3-4. Babies are born blind, weigh about 30 grams with a body length of up to 12 centimeters. The eyes of small sables open at 30-35 days, and their ears open a little later.

Until about 1 month, the mother feeds the sable cubs with breast milk, and already at the age of two months the cubs begin to try adult food. Babies grow quickly. The mother often takes the grown sable cubs with her to teach them to get food on their own.

The female boldly protects her babies in case of danger and can even attack a dog that happens to be close to the nesting shelter. If the litter is disturbed, the caring mother transfers the cubs to another nest.

At the end of summer, when the female begins her next rut, the brood breaks up and each sable begins to lead an independent life. Young animals with valuable fur reach sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 years and reproduce until they are 13-15 years old.

In the wild, sables live 8-10 years, in captivity - up to 15 years.

Subspecies of sable

Scientists identify about 17 varieties of sables, which not only have different colors and coat quality, but also different sizes. Barguzin species(Martes zibellina princeps, found on the eastern shores of Lake Baikal) is considered the most valuable. The Barguzin sable has a deep black skin color and soft and silky fur. Subspecies common in other areas have lighter shades of coat. Eg, Sakhalin(Martes zibellina sahalinensis), Yenisei(Martes zibellina yenisejensis) and Sayan(Martes zibellina sajanensis) sables have coarser and shorter fur.

In terms of fur value, the first place is traditionally occupied by the Barguzin sable, followed by Yakut(Martes zibellina jakutensis) and Kamchatka(Martes zibellina kamtshadalica) subspecies.

In nature there is white sable- a very rare representative of the mustelid family. An animal with incredibly valuable fur lives in the impenetrable taiga; white sables cannot be bred in captivity.

All varieties of sable are predators.

Fishing and trade in sable fur

In the 19th century, sables lived in the territory from the Pacific Ocean to Scandinavia, but today these animals are not found in Europe. Due to intensive fishing in the 20th century, the number and distribution area of ​​sables decreased significantly.

Thick, silky and beautiful sable fur is highly valued. It is sometimes called "soft gold". Luxurious fur coats and hats are made from sable skins.

Just 200 years ago, the sable harvest was about 200,000 individuals per year. As a result of predatory extermination, the animal with valuable fur found itself on the verge of extinction. In an attempt to maintain the numbers of these animals in the wild, special conservation measures have been taken. For a time, sable hunting was completely banned, and the predators began to be bred in nature reserves and resettled in their ancestral territories. As a result of such measures, it was possible to slightly restore the population.

Nowadays, sable hunting is allowed only with licenses. Also, these animals with valuable fur are bred on fur farms.

At the moment, sable fur is the most expensive in the world.

Keeping sable at home

Sables are easily tamed and quickly get used to people. However, only those animals that are raised by humans from almost blind age or raised by a tame female become absolutely tame. These beautiful animals behave very actively and during the transition period (usually lasts 2-3 months) they can show aggression. This applies to sables that have managed to experience life in the wild. In this case, you just need to wait a little while the predator adapts to living conditions in captivity.

Sables are smart animals and are easy to train. It is easy to train an animal to use a litter tray; it does not have the unpleasant odor inherent in other members of the mustelid family. In an apartment or house, the animal needs to equip a spacious shelter - buy a cage or prepare a balcony, covering it with a metal mesh. Sables love to play, and therefore cannot do without a large number of different plastic toys. These animals also get along well with other pets.

If possible, sables should be taken for walks as often as possible. This does not have to be a street; a separate room in a house or apartment is also quite suitable.

With good care in an apartment, a sable can live up to 20 years.

Sable (Martes zibellina) is a predatory animal with fluffy beautiful fur, a valuable hunting object. This animal is one of the closest “relatives” of the pine marten - the sable is similar in appearance, and their habits are partly the same. The tail, which is so impressive in the pine or stone marten, in this animal is only about a third of the entire body length. But this, as life has shown, has never been of fundamental importance for humans, since the skin of sable has a high value.

Appearance

The sable is not the largest mammal among the mustelids. Features of its appearance are as follows:

The animal's fur is soft, fluffy, and thick. The color is relatively uniform - dark brown on the body, black-brown on the legs and tail, usually slightly lighter on the head than on the body. In winter, the fur is somewhat lighter, in summer it is darker, so its basic tone varies from yellowish-sandy to brownish-black. There is no characteristic clearly defined throat spot; only in some individuals it is present and has a blurred, indistinct shape and a lighter color compared to the main color of the fur.

Range and habitat

The sable is distributed throughout the Eurasian taiga: from west to east - from the northern part of the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean (together with the islands adjacent to the mainland), to the north - to the limits of the existence of forest vegetation. Almost the entire range - and this is mainly the Far East and Siberia - belongs to Russia. Other countries where sable can be found include:

• Mongolia;
• Korea;
• northern China;
• Hokkaido island (Japan).

Intensive fishing led to such a limited range. At the beginning of the century, the scale of the territories occupied by sables was completely insignificant, amounting to no more than a tenth of the previous one. They were just a few disconnected areas, isolated from each other. Now the range has been restored to some extent, however, even in our time, the total area of ​​distribution of the sable does not exceed half of the territories in which it was distributed several hundred years ago.

The main habitat of the animal is coniferous taiga. The sable is very fond of fir, spruce and cedar, which usually form the so-called black taiga - damp, often littered with windfalls, overgrown with mosses.

In addition to such areas, the sable lives:

• in larch trees that predominate on the East Siberian Plateau;
• among kurums (rocky placers overgrown with shrubs), if the animal settles in mountainous areas adjacent to the taiga.

Dietary features of sable

This mammal, like all mustelids, is predatory. Its main diet consists of:

To a lesser extent, compared with other mustelids, sables eat squirrels. Large males hunt hare.

In addition, depending on the season, the food of this animal in the winter is the carrion of large animals, and in the summer the sable, living near large rivers, usually does not miss the spawning of migratory fish.

A special delicacy for the sable is the honey of wild bees.

Among plant foods, the animal prefers:

• berries and fruits - lingonberries, bunches of rowan, etc.;
• pine nuts.

True, as for nuts, the animal does not bother collecting them from the branches of cedars, but steals supplies made by squirrels, voles, chipmunks, and nutcrackers.

Natural enemies

No animal or bird hunts sable for food. But he has two main competitors during hunting - weasel and ermine. The sable shares with them the mouse-like rodents that are so tasty for it. Therefore, if he happens to encounter one of these predators, then in order to kill the unwanted “neighbor”, the sable even leaves the prey in wait and turns his attention to the enemy.

Among sables at risk, there are usually young animals and old individuals who have lost their former agility and speed of movement. They can become prey to any predator that is larger than them.

Animal behavior

The animal hunts at any time of the day. In this case, it prefers to move on the ground, rarely climbs high in trees, and goes into the water only as a last resort. On average, a sable runs 3 km per day of hunting. The travel distance increases significantly in winter, when in search of food the animal is sometimes forced to lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle, and decreases in summer, when there is a considerable chance of stumbling upon the remains of a large animal killed by someone. But even in the summer, if there is a bad year, he has to run from 10 to 20 km.

The sable outlines (marks) for itself an area within which it hunts for a long time. If there is enough food in it, then the animal settles down thoroughly in one place, building a hole and trampling entire paths between its home and the places in which it discovered a significant source of food. Near large killed animals, the sable sets up temporary burrows and narrows its range of movement, limiting itself to movement from the burrow to this improvised “dining room.”

In winter, the animal prefers to move under the snow, building entire tunnels in its thickness and not coming to the surface for weeks. In general, the paths that he runs through his own hunting area cover it with a dense network.

The sable can nest under the roots of trees, in hollows (including fallen trunks), and in stone deposits.

Reproduction

Traditionally for all mustelids, sable mating occurs in the summer - in June or July. Then, after a period of approximately 7-8 months of latent pregnancy, the babies are born in the spring. This usually occurs from the beginning of April (in the south of the range) to mid-May (in the northern regions). The total pregnancy period is usually 260–290 days, that is, 8–9 months.

Hollows are the animal’s favorite place to spend the night.

During the birth of the offspring and its development, the female settles down in one of her permanent burrows or hollows, having previously prepared them - lining them with moss, hay, sometimes grass, and also the hair of destroyed rodents.

The puppies are hatched small - no more than 30 cm in length - and completely helpless - blind and deaf. There can be from 1 to 6 of them in one litter. At about a month the little sable begins to hear, and after another 7 days it begins to see. Already from the second month of life, the female begins to feed the cubs with meat food, at the same time instilling in them hunting habits and habits. The young begin to live independently in the summer, when the female begins her next rut.

Area: Russia (Siberia, Far East, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin), Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan (Hokkaido Island),

Description: The sable is a slender and graceful predator. The body is flexible and elongated. The head is wedge-shaped with a pointed muzzle, the ears are triangular in shape. The paws are small. The tail is short and covered with fluffy fur.
Sable fur is soft and fluffy. In winter, the fur is covered with paw pads and claws. The animals molt once a year. Males are larger than females (by about 5-10%).

Color: highly variable - from dark brown to yellow-fawn, with a light spot on the throat (gray, white or pale yellow). The tail and paws are dark, the head is light, the underfur is from yellowish-red to dark gray.

Size: body length 35-56 cm, tail 10-17 cm.

Weight: males 0.88-1.8 kg, females 0.7-1.56 kg.

Lifespan: in captivity up to 15 years, in nature up to 8.

Habitat: mountain and lowland taiga (cedar, deciduous and pine forests), thickets of cedar and birch elfin, rocky placers, windbreaks, forest-tundra, upper reaches of mountain rivers, subalpine woodlands - 1200-1500 m above sea level. Avoids barren mountain peaks.

Food: small mammals (voles, mice, pikas, squirrels, hares, chipmunks, moles, shrews), birds and their eggs (grouse, ptarmigan, hazel grouse, passerines), insects (bees and their larvae), nuts (pine), berries (rowanberry, blueberry, lingonberry, blueberry, bird cherry, currant, rose hip, cloudberry) and plants (ledum), carrion and bee honey.

Behavior: sable is an agile and fast animal. It goes hunting at night, sometimes (if there is a shortage of food) during daylight hours. Hearing and smell are well developed.
It robs the supplies of rodents and birds, eating nuts. Mainly hunts on the ground. Adult (experienced) animals spend less time searching for food than young ones.
It climbs trees well, but can jump from tree to tree only if the tree branches are tightly closed.
For rest, it uses a nest, which it makes in various voids: under fallen trees, in low tree hollows or under stones. Lines the bottom with wood dust, hay, feathers and moss. During bad weather it remains in the nest. Inside the nest, the temperature remains between 15-23"C. A latrine is located not far from the hole.
If the nest is on the ground, then in winter the sable digs a tunnel to it in the snow (up to 2-3 m long). Once every 2-3 years it replaces the old nest with a new one.
Swims poorly, because... the fur gets wet quickly.

Social structure: Except for the breeding season, it leads a solitary, territorial lifestyle. Individual plot from 150 to 2000 hectares. The owner of the site actively protects it from strangers.

Reproduction: The female makes a nest in hollows or under the roots of trees. The nest is lined with hay, moss or the hair of eaten rodents.
Males fight among themselves for the female, sometimes such fights can be very cruel.
The female protects her cubs, boldly attacking even the dog if it is too close to the nest. If the litter is disturbed, the female moves the pups to another nest.

Breeding season/period: the false rut begins in February-March, and the true one in June-July.

Puberty: 2-3 years, reproductive age (in captivity) up to 8-9 years, although there are females that bear offspring at 13-15 years.

Pregnancy: with a long latent stage of development - 9-10 months.

Offspring: the female gives birth to 3-7 blind puppies, weighing about 30 g, up to 11.5 cm long. Ears open per month, and eyes open at 30-35 days. They begin to leave the nest at 1.5 months. age. In August, the sable cubs become completely independent and leave their mother.

Population/conservation status: early 20th century. sable, as a species, was practically exterminated.
But thanks to the protection in 1940-60. numbers began to increase. In 1970, the population numbered about 200 thousand individuals. The species is included in International IUCN Red List.
Sable creates sterile hybrids with pine marten, which are called kindus.
There are several subspecies: West Siberian sable ( Martes zibellina zibellina), Yenisei sable ( M. z. yenisejensis), Sayan sable ( M. z. sajanensis), Barguzin sable ( M. z. princeps), Kamchatka sable ( M. z. camtshadalica), Sakhalin sable ( M. z. sahalinensis).

Copyright holder: Zooclub portal
When reprinting this article, an active link to the source is MANDATORY, otherwise, use of the article will be considered a violation of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights.