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MN Trapper’s Wild Save: CPR Brings Pine Marten Back to Life
When a Minnesota trapper checked his bobcat trap, he found an unexpected and illegal catch: an out-of-season pine marten. Believing the animal was dead, he called a conservation officer to report it. But during the call, he noticed a flicker of life—the marten’s eyes moved.
Without hesitation, the trapper hung up, sprang into action, and performed mouth-to-nose CPR on the small carnivore. Minutes later, he called the officer back to report the incredible news: the pine marten was alive.
The officer rushed to meet the man, finding the now “very angry” marten safely contained in the trapper’s vehicle. Together, they released the feisty survivor back into the wild.
Shaken by the experience, the trapper decided to pull all his traps from the area. The Department of Natural Resources, which rarely encounters such a dramatic rescue, confirmed the details via a video taken by the trapper’s wife.
Pine martens are usually cat-sized and are carnivorous, so giving one mouth-to-nose resuscitation involves some risk, to put it mildly.
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