Pine martens in the UK

A few years ago I wouldn’t have dared to dream that I might see a pine marten in my garden or even in England. Their population in Britain was on its knees and it looked like they were heading for extinction, but things are changing.

The pine marten is a member of the mustelid family, the same group of animals that includes the stoat, otter and badger. Mustelids are quite variable but they have short legs, long bodies and a variety of scent glands which makes some of them smell quite strongly, anyone who has handled a ferret will know that. They use anal scent glands to leave messages to each other in their droppings, otters are well-known for leaving spraints which smell of fish and jasmine, pine martens make sweet, violet-scented droppings and for this reason they are also known as the sweet-mart or sweet marten.

Pine martens are much larger than stoats but smaller than badgers. They spend a lot of time on the ground but often make their dens in tree holes and are nimble enough to climb high among the branches. Their name implies that they are most commonly found in pine forests but they are at home in any type of woodland whether coniferous or deciduous. Their dense coat is chocolate-brown, they have quite large, rounded ears and a lovely cream-coloured bib. At the other end their tail is large and bushy, a useful counterbalance for when they are traversing thinner branches in pursuit of prey.

Pine marten diets

With a wide-ranging diet pine martens are omnivorous taking fruits, nuts and berries when they are bountiful and a variety of small mammals, birds and their eggs. In the past this has led to their downfall because despite once being numerous and widespread in Britain they were persecuted by gamekeepers, trying to protect their game birds, as well as being hunted for fur. Just to put the nail in their coffin we decimated the forest cover across much of the UK and that has had a huge impact on their population.

Their habit of eating small mammals might now be playing in their favour. A number of studies, including in Ireland, have shown that where the population of pine martens is increasing there is a corresponding decrease in the number of grey squirrels. It seems that pine martens can more easily hunt grey squirrels than the lighter-weight and more nimble red squirrels. There is an evolutionary logic to this argument because red squirrels have evolved with pine martens and it is sensible to think that red squirrels might have evolved to evade predation.

With the idea that having more pine martens might help our native red squirrels in their battle against the greys there is a growing interest in helping pine martens to spread and this includes reintroducing them. Pine martens have already been successfully reintroduced to Wales, to boost the existing fragmented population, and are currently finding their feet in the Forest of Dean where their reintroduction is on-going.

Where are pine martens found?

Pine martens are currently at their most common in the Highlands of Scotland but can also be found increasingly in southern Scotland, Wales and northern England. In recent years there have been odd records in other areas as far apart as Cornwall and Shropshire which might relate to individuals which have been released informally and there is an isolated, now well-documented, population in The New Forest. With plans to continue the reintroduction of pine martens at more locations, yet to be decided upon, it seems only a matter of time before they are widely distributed again but for now there is still plenty of work to be done.

The pine marten recovery projects, including the reintroductions, are being spear-headed by the Vincent Wildlife Trust, a wildlife charity which focuses its attention on British and Irish mammals. The Trust has 30 years’ experience of research into pine martens and since 2015 has translocated pine martens from Scotland to Wales and Gloucestershire as well as encouraging the natural spread of pine martens in Scotland, northern England and Wales. Funding has come from various sources with The Woodland Trust and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) being key funding partners. Further funds are required and donations from the public, no matter how small, are welcome.

For more information about this translocation scheme see www.pine-marten-recovery-project.org.uk

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