Trail Camera Captures First Birth of Wild Baby Pine Martens in a Century

Camera traps have captured the first wild baby pine martens to be born in southwest England for over 100 years.

The new trail camera footage shows a female pine marten with four baby pine martens, known as kits, as they explore woodland in Exmoor. The rare family group was recorded as part of efforts to return the elusive species to southwest England, and the camera trap footage provides the first evidence that pine martens released by the project are successfully breeding in the area.

According to a news release shared by Devon Wildlife Trust, the footage was captured on a trail camera showing the female pine marten and her four kits visiting a bait station filled with peanut butter and fish oil in woodland on Exmoor, near areas managed by the National Trust and Exmoor National Park Authority. Conservationists say pine martens are particularly attracted to the peanut butter and fish oil mixture.

The discovery marks a major milestone for the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, which is working to restore pine martens to the South West after the species disappeared from much of the region in England. The project has also released 15 pine martens in Dartmoor National Park, with the aim of restoring a native predator that helps maintain woodland ecosystems and support more resilient habitats.

Since their release, the pine martens have proved to be highly mobile, shy of people and difficult to see. They are also primarily nocturnal, making these rare animals hard to spot.

“These clips were recorded on cameras being monitored by one of our brilliant project volunteers. We were incredibly excited to finally see kits after so many months of intensive monitoring,” Ali North, Two Moors Pine Marten Project field officer for Exmoor, says in a statement. “Mothers give birth in March or April and have on average two to three kits, so to see four with their mum was an amazing sight and suggests that Exmoor is the perfect home for these animals.”

North adds: “This has been a community effort with local people helping us in a series of key tasks ranging from building pine marten den boxes to installing and regularly checking remote cameras.”

‘The Elusive Pine Marten’

According to The Wildlife Trusts, pine martens are shy, tree-dwelling mammals mostly found in northern parts of the UK, especially Scotland. They prefer woodland habitats and are excellent climbers, often making their homes in tree holes, old squirrel nests, or bird nests.

Pine martens eat small rodents, birds, eggs, insects, and fruit. They’re sometimes seen visiting bird tables if tempted with peanuts or raisins. During the summer mating season, they make high-pitched, cat-like calls. The following spring, females give birth to one to five young which become independent by autumn.