Martes zibellina

16.

Sable

Martes zibellina

French: Martre zibeline / German: Zobel / Spanish: Marta cibelina

Taxonomy. Mustela zibellina Linnaeus, 1758,

Russia.

Thirty subspecies have been proposed, but a taxonomic revision is needed.

Distribution. China, Japan (Hokkaido), Mongolia, North Korea, and Russia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 38-56 cm (males), 35-51 cm (females); tail 12-19 cm (males), 11.5-17.2 cm (females); weight 800-1800 g (males), 700-1560 g (females), adult males are slightly larger than females. The Sable has a long body and short legs, and a short bushy tail around a third of the head and body length. The pelage is long and silky, and varies from pale grayish-brown to dark brown, almost black. The summer pelageis shorter and darker. The top of the head is lighter than the body, and the white neck patch is vestigial. The soles are covered with extremely dense, stiff hairs. The skull is long and narrow. Dental formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4,M 1/2 = 38.

Habitat. Sables are found in deciduous and coniferous forests, and often occur in mountain regions and near streams. They typically prefer mature forests of large trees with a dense canopy. In the Daxinganling Mountains, China, Sables prefer late succession mixed forests, with large trees and coarse woody debris, intermediate to dense tree canopy cover, and high densities and diameters of larch tree holes. They avoid open areas, but use the middle of slopes and slope bottoms, and rest on ridge tops with abundant logs, boles, or roots.

Food and Feeding. The diet consists mostly of small mammals (rodents, pikas, hares), but also includes birds, reptiles, amphibians,fish, insects, fruits, honey, nuts, and berries. The summer diet in the Middle Yenisei taiga, Siberia, comprises microtine rodents, mainly Northern Red-backed Voles Clethrionomys rutilus (52-3% of the biomass). Plant food (seeds of Siberian pine Pinus sibirica and berries of Vaccinium sp.) is also frequently eaten (79-4% of scats and 19-9% of biomass). Shrews, birds, and insects are supplementary food (25% of biomass). In the Daxinganling Mountains, China, the winter diet is mainly small mammals (54-1%), berries and pine nuts (32:4%), birds (12-5%), eggs (2:2%), and ants (1%). The main small mammal prey is Gray Red-backed Voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus) and Northern Red-backed Voles (Myodes rutilus), followed by Mountain Hares (Lepus timidus) and Siberian Chipmunks (Eutamias sibiricus). Birds include hazel grouses Tetrastes bonasia (8-1%), Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius (0-7%), and great tits Parus major (0-5%). Plant items include berries of Vaccinium vitisideae (20-9%) and pine nuts of Pinus pumila (8:8%). In north-eastern China, remains of mammals were found in 89% ofscats, followed in frequency by soft and hard mast, and birds. Sables selected for C. rufocanus more than shrews (Sorex caecutiens), but ate C. rutilus in proportion to its availability. In eastern Hokkaido, Japan, the diet includes mammals, insects, plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians,fish, and crustaceans. Mammals are the commonest food items throughout the year, with voles Clethrionomyssp. (frequency of occurrence 56:5%), Siberian Chipmunks (19-3%) and mice Apodemus sp. (14:6%), most often found in scats. Insects are eaten mainly in the summer (48:8%) and less often in other seasons (9:3% on average). Plant materials, chiefly fruits, are consumed mainly in autumn (45-7%) and winter (68-4%), but are rare in the diet during spring (5-1%) and summer (1-3%).

Activity patterns. Active both during the day and at night. In the Daxinganling Mountains, China, radio-collared Sables were found to be nocturnal in spring and winter, and diurnal in summer and autumn. Den/rest sites are in holes among or under rocks, in hollow logs, under tree roots, or in burrows (which may be several meters long and lead to an enlarged nest chamber lined with dry vegetation and fur). In Japan, Sables prefer resting in dense tree forests that have many tree species and woody debris.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Sables are mainly terrestrial, but are also good tree climbers. They are solitary outside of the breeding season. Home ranges may be up to 30 km?, especially in the desolate forests of Siberia. In the Daxinganling Mountains, China, the average home range size of males was 13-03 km® and 7-18 km? for females. There was considerable overlap of home ranges between males and females (average 62%), but virtually no overlap between male individuals. In a cooltemperate mixed forest in Japan, home ranges were 0-50- 1-78 km * (mean 1-12 km?); the home ranges of some individuals overlapped extensively. Reported population densities vary from one per 1-5 km? in pine forests to one per 25 km?® in larch forests.

Breeding. Mating occurs from June to August. Implantation of the fertilized eggs into the uterus is delayed and births occur the following spring, in April or May. Total gestation is 250-300 days; actual embryonic development is 25-40 days. Litter size is one to five, usually three or four. The young weigh 30-35 g at birth, open their eyes after 30-36 days, emerge from the den at 38 days, and are weaned after seven weeks. Sexual maturity is reached at 15-16 months.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern in The IUCN Red List. The Sable is considered common throughout most ofits distribution. It is hunted for its fur, which is one of the most valuable furs produced in Europe and Asia. Sables are also raised on fur farms to help sustain the fur trade; over 25,000 are harvested annually. This species was once common in China, but is now considered rare.

Bibliography. Brzezinski (1994), Buskirk et al. (1996a, 1996b), Ma et al. (1999), Miyoshi & Higashi (2005), Murakami (2003), Stroganov (1969), Wozencraft (2005, 2008), Xu, Jiang, Ma, Jin et al. (1996), Xu, Jiang, Ma, Li & Buskirk (1997), Zhang & Ma (2000).