Small game - mammals

Squirrel (Martes foina)

The white marten (Martes foina) is a small predator of the porcupine family, dialectally also called Kokardja, Yorkipe, Konada or Samsar. It looks like the golden marten, but it is heavier than it, its head is rounder, its feet are hairless and it has coarser fur with rarer grayish hairs. The spot on her neck is white, from the back it branches laterally to the forelimbs. Her nose is slightly reddish. The legs and tail of the squirrel are dark brown. In length, males reach from 40 to 70 cm, their tail is up to 30 cm and weigh from 1.7 to 2.4 kg. Females have a body length of 30-50 cm, a tail of up to 25 cm and a weight of 1.1 to 1.5 kg. It is found in many places around the Bulgarian mountains and plains. It climbs trees well, but hunts on the ground. It makes its dens in rock crevices and hollows of tree stumps. It feeds mainly on mouse-like rodents, partly on birds, lizards, amphibians, insects and fruits. Her pregnancy is 8-9 months, she gives birth to 2 to 7 cubs, which hatch at about 36-38 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. Lives from 8 to 11 years. It is widespread in many European and Asian countries. Killing her is prohibited. It is hunted mainly for its valuable skin, which is known by the trade name "samsar". She sometimes steals chickens, rabbits and other small domestic animals, for which she is hunted down and killed.