Abstract
We estimated the population size of Martes melampus from faecal DNA in Aso District in Kumamoto Prefecture and Saga City in Saga Prefecture, Kyusyu, Japan. From analysis of DNA extracted from faeces, 95 individuals were identified in Aso, while 50 were identified in Saga, among which 13 in Aso and 10 in Saga were considered resident. We calculated the population size per hectare as 0.14 to 0.19 in Aso and 0.09 to 0.13 in Saga. These estimated densities were very high compared to previously published studies on Martes. There were some cases in which mature individuals of the same sex that were not blood relatives had overlapping ranges, indicating that these animals were not always exclusive.
