Nilgiri Marten has been recorded mainly in evergreen forests and montane forest-grassland mosaics, with a few sight-records from moist deciduous forest very close to evergreen forest (Mudappa 1999, Yoganand and Kumar 1999, J. Joshua pers. comm. 2006, Sridhar et al. 2008, D. Mudappa pers. comm. 2014), as well as in some altered habitats such as tea, acacia, coffee and cardamom plantations, generally within three kilometres of forest (Schreiber et al. 1989, Yoganand and Kumar 1999, Jathanna 2010, Krishna and Karnad 2010, Anoop 2013). 

This species will prey opportunistically on almost any small bird or mammal (Pocock 1941), including Indian Chevrotain Moschiola indica (Christopher and Jayson 1996, Kurup and Joseph 2001, Mudappa 2002), Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica (Hutton 1949a, V. Ramachandran, pers. comm. 2014), and on Bengal Monitor lizard Varanus bengalensis (Mudappa 1999); it feeds also on nectar (Hutton 1944) and probes fallen logs (Kurup and Joseph 2001), probably for invertebrates or reptiles. While sightings in forest areas are rare, local forest-edge communities (local planters along the eastern border of Talacauvery and Padinalknad Reserved Forest to the south, the southern border of Pattighat RF and the southern/eastern border of Pushpagiri) usually know this distinctive species well and regularly sight Nilgiri Martens when they raid bee-boxes placed in coffee and cardamom plantations close to forest areas (reportedly to feed on the bee larvae, rather than honey), especially during November-January.

Nilgiri Marten is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, south of 13°N (about Charmad - Kanapadi); 23 localities, most with very recent records, were traced by Sreehari and Nameer (2013). Most of these localities are in protected areas or reserved forests (see 'Conservation'). In recent times it has also been photo-documented in tea and other plantation areas adjoining forests, particularly in the Anamalai hills (e.g., Anoop 2013, D. Muddapa pers. comm. 2014).

It has been recorded across a wide range of elevations from 300 to 2,600 m asl (within 100 m of the summit of the highest peak within its range; Mudappa 1999, Balakrishnan 2005, Krishna and Karnad 2010, D. Muddapa pers. comm. 2014). Although there has been no formal assessment that accounts for variable search effort across the altitudinal gradient, it appears that the species occurs mostly in medium to high elevations of about 800-2,600 m asl (D. Jathanna pers. comm. 2014).

Nilgiri Marten is listed in Schedule II part II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and has been placed on Appendix III of CITES by India.

This species occurs in many protected areas and Reserved Forests (RFs), including (south to north): Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (TR), Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS), Neyyar WLS, Gavi range of Ranni Forest Division (FD), Periyar TR, Srivilliputtur WLS, High Wavy Mountains, Pambadumshola National Park (NP), Palni hills, Eravikulam NP, Anamalai TR - Grass Hills NP, Valparai plateau, Chinnar WLS, Nelliampathy RF, Attapadi RF, Muthikkulam RF, Nilambur South RF, Silent Valley NP, Mukurthi NP - Upper Bhavani, Naduvattam RF-Nilgiris, Brahmagiri WLS, Kerti RF, Padinalknad RF, Talakaveri WLS, Pattighat RF, Pushpagiri WLS, Bisle RF and Charmadi-Kanapadi RF (Hutton 1949a,b; Karanth 1985; Schreiber et al. 1989; Madhusudan 1995; Yoganand and Kumar 1995; Christopher and Jayson 1996; Gokula and Ramachandran 1996; Kurup and Joseph 2001; Mudappa 2001, 2002; Balakrishnan 2005; Kumara and Singh 2007; Mudappa et al. 2007; Krishna and Karnad 2010; Anoop 2013; D. Jathanna pers. comm. 2014; H. N. Kumara pers. comm. 2014; N. Jain pers. comm. 2014; M. Balasubramaniam pers. comm. 2014; R. Vijayan pers. comm. 2014; K. J. Varkey pers. comm. 2014; V. Ramachandran pers. comm. 2014; R. Nayak pers. comm. 2014; S. Chirukandoth pers. comm. 2014; G. Mehra pers. comm. 2014; N. A. Naseer pers. comm. 2014; D. Jathanna pers. comm. 2014). There are also records from Sholayar (Vijayan 1979), Parambikulam TR (Sreehari and Nameer 2013) and Vazhachal RF (D. Mudappa pers. comm. 2014). These protected areas and reserved forests adequately cover the distributional range of the species and conserve it effectively.

Schreiber et al. (1989) recommended field surveys to locate remaining populations and determine if existing reserves give adequate protection. A systematic survey following this recommendation found that although poaching is infrequent in protected areas, measures to regulate hunting outside these areas are ineffective, especially in lowland forests (Balakrishnan 2005). With the recent number of incidental records clarifying current range, the more important need now is for ecological study of the species, particularly to clarify the factors behind the generally low sighting rate. This would greatly help in planning conservation action for the species, if indeed any is needed.