A small carnivore with a deep chocolate-brown coat, reddish-brown forequarters and a distinctive yellow-to-orange throat, the Nilgiri marten is found only in the Western Ghats. It is also one of India’s rarest mammals.
A photograph of the elusive animal by wildlife photographer R Vidhya Vigashini recently drew attention online after IAS officer Supriya Sahu shared it on X around Endangered Species Day on 15 May.
She described the Nilgiri marten as “one of nature’s happiest little secrets”, referring to its distinctive colouring and its life among the shola forests.
The response to the photograph was revealing. Several people admitted they had never seen, or even heard of, the animal before. Others thanked Sahu for introducing them to a species that rarely features in conversations about Indian wildlife.
The Nilgiri Marten is one of nature’s happiest little secrets, with tiny feet, golden-yellow and chocolate fur, and playful agility leaping through the shola forests like a spark of joy. Found nowhere else on earth except the Western Ghats, this rare endemic beauty brings the… pic.twitter.com/XshtjzynK4
— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) May 13, 2026
That unfamiliarity is part of the story.
The Nilgiri marten is not just difficult to photograph. It is one of India’s least-known small carnivores, with a global population estimated at fewer than 1,000 mature individuals. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable.
Meet the marten
A member of the weasel family, the Nilgiri marten is the only marten native to southern India. Its range stretches across parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with the Nilgiri Hills forming a central part of its distribution. Records also extend to places such as Charmadi Ghat, Neyyar and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries.
It is not a large animal.
An adult can measure around 55–65 cm from head to body, with another 40–45 cm of bushy tail, and weigh roughly 2 kg. What makes it instantly recognisable is its coat: deep brown across much of the body, reddish towards the front, with a striking yellow-to-orange throat.
Unlike many carnivores that become active after dark, the Nilgiri marten is diurnal, meaning it is active during the day. It spends much of its time in trees, although it also comes down to the forest floor.
Its diet is varied. Birds, small mammals and insects such as cicadas are among its prey, while fruits and seeds also form part of its diet.
This puts the marten at several points in the forest food web, as both predator and fruit-eater.
A life tied to the sholas
To understand why the animal matters, it helps to look beyond the marten itself.
The Nilgiri marten is strongly associated with the high-elevation forests and forest-grassland mosaics of the Western Ghats. In a 2023 study, researchers examined 165 opportunistic records collected over 10 years in the Nilgiris.
Of these, 67% came from shola forest ecosystems and another 22% from grasslands. The records ranged from about 857 metres to 2,583 metres above sea level, with most occurring around 2,000 metres.
The marten moves between trees and the ground while searching for food. By feeding on small animals and insects, it is part of the forest’s food web. Its consumption of fruits and seeds may also help move seeds through the landscape.
Why seeing one is unusual
There is another reason the recent photograph caught attention: researchers themselves have struggled to gather enough information about this species.
The Nilgiri marten occurs at low densities and can move through dense forest without being noticed.
A study from Pampadum Shola National Park recorded 42 sightings between 2013 and 2015, many lasting less than a minute. Researchers have also used camera traps and local observations to piece together information about its distribution and behaviour.
The Nilgiri marten depends on the connected forests, grasslands and mountain ecosystems of the Western Ghats. Photograph: (endangeredinnilgiris)
The lack of sightings does not necessarily mean the animal is absent. A species living quietly in a difficult landscape can simply be hard to detect.
That makes every reliable record useful. Each one can add another piece to the picture of where the marten lives and what it needs to survive.
The landscape is the real story
The Nilgiri marten’s vulnerability is closely tied to the vulnerability of its habitat.
Research in the Nilgiris has also highlighted the importance of forest patches outside formally protected areas. Of the 165 records studied, 11% came from plantations, while researchers stressed the need for further surveys and protection of reserve forests adjoining Mukurthi National Park.
This is where a photograph of one small animal becomes part of a larger conservation story.
The Nilgiri marten depends on the connected forests, grasslands and mountain ecosystems of the Western Ghats. Protecting these landscapes can help safeguard not just this elusive carnivore, but the wider community of species that shares its habitat.
