Pine Marten Conservation

The Pine Marten is a native British animal, it is on the edge of extinction in Wales!

This cat sized animal used to be widespread and easily found across all of GB up until the 19th century, from this point on they have been in major decline, to the point they have become a rare and isolated species.

The Vincent wildlife trust (VWT) is a group focused on raising awareness of native British mammals, as well as conserving and reinforcing their growth. This organisation is helping to restore this animal to it’s former glory.

                                                                                              

A native British animal

A member of the weasel family, the pine marten is usually a nocturnal animal, only venturing out in the day during the late summer months. It is a carnivore with a varied diet, 20% of which is made up of birds, and a further 32% completed by small mammals.

With only a low reproductive rate of 2-3 kits per year, this animal is slow to recover from population loss, however they are known to live up to 15 years in the wild.

Their home range can vary from less than half a kilometer to up to 10 km squared, with habitat size varied due to the quality of the environment, the higher the quality, the less area is needed by the animal to survive. They are also renowned for being able to survive in mono-culture forest, often found in modern times, they will occupy the forest for a habitat, but will come out and hunt on the fringes for food.

The animal has a preference for nesting in hollows in trees, however if this option is not available they will nest on the ground. It has also been observed that they will nest in unattended, hollow, man-made structures, such as lofts and barns. This activity can bring them in contact with humans.

    The main threat are humans!

The main threat to the species are humans. Either from direct attempts to kill the animals, or as a by-product from trying to kill a pest, such as rats.

The VWT collects data on these delicate animals by using non-invasive techniques. Methods include hair tubes, camera traps, and scat searches. Physical samples, like hair and feces are sent to the Waterford institute in Ireland. However these samples are not always correct, with one response coming back to the organisation as flamingo.

Apparently one good way to identify pine marten scat’s is to smell them, due to them having a sweet aroma (allegedly).

Another goal for the trust is to create and install 80 dens for the pine martens, so far 59 have been achieved.

It has been shown that pine martens do have a negative effect on the grey squirrel population, with the squirrels decreasing in numbers when both animals are in the same location. They don’t effect red squirrels as much, and it is believed this is due to grey squirrels spending more time on the ground.

For more information visit http://www.vwt.org.uk/species/pine-marten