Rare pine martens successfully breeding in the New Forest

RARE pine martens are breeding in the New Forest in what has been hailed by conservationists as a "real success story".

The cat-sized member of the mustelid family were once widespread across the UK but habitat loss and persecution reduced their numbers.

Small and fragmented populations remain, mostly in northern England, Scotland and parts of Wales – with a small number known to be in the New Forest, as reported in the A&T.

But now, with the use of hidden cameras, it has been discovered that the creatures are successfully breeding and are well established in several areas locally.

The evidence of successful breeding was secured in the second year of a long-term study to understand how the rare and protected creatures are recolonising the area.

Leanne Sargeant, senior ecologist for Forestry England, said: "The progress of pine martens in the New Forest is a real success story.

"It’s our goal to make sure the nation’s forests provide wildlife with places to thrive and expand – here in the New Forest pine martens are doing just that.

"The survey makes it clear that they are settling in a wide range of areas and successfully breeding.

"We hope that knowing more about their development will help us support these rare creatures and inform reintroduction projects elsewhere."

As reported in the A&T, the New Forest Pine Marten Project by Forestry England and Wild New Forest recently released video footage of the shy creatures from 30 remote trail cameras.

Supported by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, as well as a grant from the Love the Forest funding scheme, the project maps and monitors the growing pine marten population.

The team hope to combine the video footage with other methods to assess the size of the population of pine martens.

The new clips also confirm initial findings that pine martens prefer to use fallen trees and branches to navigate across the forest floor and to cross streams and wet areas.

Marcus Ward from Wild New Forest said: "It is incredibly rare to actually see a pine marten in the forest, even for someone like me who spends pretty much every day here.

"So to have again captured so many clips of these amazing animals is incredible."

Mostly chestnut brown in colour, each pine marten has a uniquely shaped bib – a pale yellow section of fur on its chin and throat.

This can help to identify individuals and, by observing their interactions, the team may also be able to monitor family groups.