Pine marten © Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
Will you help pine martens in Northumberland?
Donate today to our summer appeal to help us with a major conservation survey that will help restore the pine marten to Northumberland.
On the trail of the lonesome pine marten
Image © Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
Will you help us with a major conservation survey?
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The most recent State of Nature report has shown that species decline continues, with one in six species at risk of disappearing from Great Britain altogether.
However, despite this, pine martens, one of the country’s rarest carnivores, are making a comeback in parts of the UK!
A member of the mustelid family, they are mostly a chestnut-brown colour, and each pine marten has a cream bib with a unique pattern which can be used to identify individuals.
Previously widespread, they declined dramatically due to persecution and habitat loss. By 1915 they could only be found in a few isolated pockets, with their primary refuge in northwest Scotland.
The species has now been discovered in each county in the UK following successful resettlement to mid Wales and Gloucestershire and improvement in population recovery in southern Scotland.
Pine martens are slowly returning to northern England, having moved across the border to establish new populations, especially in Kielder Forest.
The elusive animal is a key piece of the nature jigsaw, and their presence helps to keep the ecosystem in balance Indeed, there is evidence from scientific studies in Scotland and Ireland that pine martens can potentially benefit red squirrels by controlling the less cautious grey squirrels.
Exciting news
The first photographic evidence that pine martens had returned to Northumberland was in 2018, when an adult was captured on a remote camera trap in Kielder Forest. Since then, this secretive mammal has slowly spread into the county, with reports coming from other areas of Northumberland.
This year (2024) the Trust has a fantastic opportunity to conduct a pine marten survey in Northumberland.
Working alongside Forestry England, The Vincent Wildlife Trust, National Trust and Natural England, we will be exploring how this beautiful animal is making a comeback, and, upon completion, we will be a key organisation in ongoing pine marten conservation work in the North of England.
But firstly, we need your help in raising money to enable us to carry out the initial survey work to give us a better idea how these secretive animals are making a comeback in our area.
Will you help pine martens in Northumberland?
Your support will:
- Enable survey work, which will inform our actions to aid natural pine marten recovery for the future.
- Allow staff and volunteers to work across the county carrying out scat (poo!) surveys
- Fund trail cameras to find these elusive mammals in the local area, including on many of our reserves.
- Support DNA analysis to confirm if collected scats are from pine martens.
