The Humboldt marten is a species in decline. It's a subspecies of the Pacific marten, similar to cats and foxes and yet not.
While most martens live in forests, there is an isolated population of Humboldt martens living in the Oregon dunes, and scientists are not sure why.
Since the animals can be notoriously hard to locate, Oregon State University scientists have beenstudying their scat. That's right, poop can provide some answers. Taal Levi is the main investigator; he and a colleague visit to illuminate their research.