Sighting of animal follows four-year project on the North York Moors carried out in partnership with Forestry Commission

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

One of England’s rarest animals has been caught on camera after a four-year stakeout by wildlife experts.

A male pine marten was captured on a wildlife camera in the North York Moors, the Forestry Commission said. Pine martens were last seen alive in Yorkshire about 35 years ago.



Cath Bashforth, an ecologist at the commission, said: “It is great to have a confirmed sighting of pine marten on Forestry Commission land.

“Supporting on this project has been exciting and to discover they are living within our forests after so many years is fantastic. We are looking forward to progressing the project further.”

The sighting is the first living record in the area since about 1982 and the first confirmed record since 1993, when a skull was found.

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The pine marten arrived in Britain after the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. They made their home in the woods that covered the country and at one point were the second commonest carnivore, with an estimated population of 147,000.

Pine martens resemble ferrets or stoats but are significantly larger, with adults growing more than 2ft in length.

They are extinct in all but a few tiny pockets of upland England, though a successful conservation programme in Scotland has led to an increase in numbers.

Recent DNA tests on droppings have confirmed the animal’s presence in Northumberland and there have been unconfirmed sightings and reports of the animals in the forests of Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Pine Marten Project, run by non-profit social enterprise NatureSpy in partnership with the Forestry Commission, began four years ago, with camera traps set up in various locations around the North York Moors.

The cameras constantly monitor a particular area for months and trigger when an animal passes in front of them, taking a picture or video.

Ed Snell, the Yorkshire Pine Marten Project coordinator for NatureSpy, said: “To finally prove pine marten presence in Yorkshire is a massive achievement for everyone involved.

“Pine marten are such an important species, being the second rarest carnivorous mammal in the UK, it’s so exciting to plan the next stage of the project and aid whatever populations we may have here.”

The project will collect DNA samples from individual pine marten, estimate population numbers, look at habitat preferences and produce habitat management proposals.

A fundraising initiative for more resources has also been launched.



Proof that pine marten live in Yorkshire has been a long time coming. In 2004 100 traps packed with jam sandwiches and shredded chicken wings were hidden in remote forests in Yorkshire in an unsuccessful attempt to catch a pine marten.