The Forestry Commission is stepping-up its search for an elusive tree climbing mammal, written off as extinct in England only a few years ago.
Special cameras triggered by infra-red beams are being installed in a remote North York Moors wood in a bid to capture an image of a Pine marten - the second rarest carnivore in Britain after the wild cat.
Four years ago forest chiefs, aided by local conservationists, began a project to track down the creature, which can grow up to two feet long, after an experienced naturalist made a reliable sighting in the area.
Sticky tubes baited with jam sandwiches were deployed in a bid to collect hair samples from the phantom sweet-toothed animal. More recently boxes designed by The Vincent Wildlife Trust have been erected to offer martens a ready-made home to raise their young.
Brian Walker, Forestry Commission Wildlife Officer for the North York Moors, said:
“We always knew the search for irrefutable proof of the creature’s presence in England would be a long one. The cameras will give us another string to our bow. They are being trained on feeding stations near the boxes and if anything breaks the invisible beam any time of the day or night the shutter will be activated. My gut feeling is that we do have pine martens, but they are few in number, nocturnal, and often in the trees, making them extremely tough to spot.”
A number of scat (faeces) samples found on the nest boxes have undergone DNA analysis to determine their origin – martens are known to mark their territories in this way. One batch proved to be from a stoat, but another is being subjected to further laboratory tests.
Pine martens look similar to a ferret or stoat, but are significantly larger, and sport a bushy tail. Once widespread in the UK, persecution and habitat loss saw the population dwindle during the early 20th century. Today the animal is mainly restricted to the Scottish Highlands. However, the Vincent Wildlife Trust has continued to collate a number of convincing sightings, mainly in northern England.
Note to editor
Pine martens have a varied diet. Small rodents are an important food, but birds, beetles, carrion, eggs and fungi are also eaten. In autumn, berries are a staple part of the diet. Martens mostly hunt on the ground, although they are superb and agile climbers. They also have very large territories. Males can roam over 10-25 square kilometres. Martens mark their territories with faeces (known as scats) deposited in places where they are conspicuous to other martens.
The Forestry Commission is the government department responsible in England for protecting, expanding and promoting the sustainable management of woods and forests and increasing their value to society and the environment. Forestry makes a real contribution to sustainable development, providing social and environmental benefits arising from planting and managing attractive, as well as productive, woodlands. To find out more visit www.forestry.gov.uk
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ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION BY RICHARD DARN, COI, LEEDS.