Photo: Martyn Nicholls
Wildwood is celebrating this week the announcement that the park has successfully bred pine martens in captivity for the first time.
Wildwood Kent's award winning woodland discovery park has been trying to breed these threatened creatures for over three years and at last has been successful where many other collections have failed.
Pandora the proud mum produced two youngsters, but initially the keepers only had the evidence of unusual noises and more food being eaten.
A few weeks ago the kits were seen poking their heads out and have since then been seen regularly by both keepers and some visitors.
Pine martens are a very difficult species to keep in captivity, never mind to breed, so the park is justifiably proud of this achievement.
Photo: Cali Bebbington
"The breeding centre has proved to be a real success" commented Paul Wirdnam Head Keeper at Wildwood "The team here has created a series of tunnels that allow us to manage the pine martens and copy wild behaviour and this is one of the reasons we now have these youngsters".
Until the 19th Century, pine martens were found throughout much of mainland Britain, the Isle of Wight and some of the Scottish islands. Habitat fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers and martens being killed for their fur, drastically reduced this distribution. By 1926, the main pine marten population in Britain was restricted to a small area of north-west Scotland. Martens are now increasing their range in Scotland, but it is not known whether their populations in England and Wales are expanding, or even if they still exist.
"These new babies will be part of a scheme to reintroduce pine martens to the South east of England" commeted Peter Smith, Chief Executive of Wildwood "W e a committed to restoring the pine marten to its former homes across the UK . Pine martens lived throughout the UK until they where trapped, poisoned and shot by gamekeepers in the 19th and 20th century."
Photo: Martyn Nicholls
Pine Martens are just some of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park near Canterbury. For more information visit our website at http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/ or telephone 0871 7820081.
Wildwood's 'Wildlife Conservation Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury.
The Pine Marten Martes martes
Recognition:
Dark brown fur; yellow/white throat patch; long fluffy tail.
Head/body length:
Tail length:
Weight:
General Ecology:
Pine martens are found in the Scottish Highlands and Grampian, with isolated populations in southern Scotland. In England and North Wales pine martens are probably on the verge of extinction although there may still be isolated individuals present in Northumberland and North Yorkshire.
Although they occur in a wide range of habitats, pine martens prefer well-wooded areas with plenty of cover. Marten dens are commonly found in hollow trees or the fallen root masses of Scots pines, an association that probably earned pine martens their name; cairns and cliffs covered with scrub are frequently used as alternative den sites.
Martens have a very varied diet, which changes with the seasonal availability of different foods. Small rodents are a very 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 climbers and can climb with great agility.
Martens have territories that vary in size according to habitat and food availability. For males these are about 10-25 square kilometres and for females about 5-15 square kilometres. Martens mark their territories with faeces (known as scats) deposited in places where they are conspicuous to other martens; they are frequently left along forestry trails.
Young martens are born blind and hairless, in litters of 1-5, in early spring and stay with their mothers for about six weeks. Their eyes open at the end of May and by mid-June they begin to emerge from their den. Male martens play no direct part in rearing the young. Pine martens have lived up to 17 years in captivity, but in the wild most probably die before they are eight years old.
Conservation:
Martens and their dens are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and must not be trapped, sold or disturbed except under licence from Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales or English Nature. Despite this legal protection, poisoned baits and traps, often set for hooded crows and foxes, still probably account for many marten deaths each year. Others are also shot at hen houses, and some are killed when mistaken for mink.
Until the 19th Century, pine martens were found throughout much of mainland Britain, the Isle of Wight and some of the Scottish islands. Habitat fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers and martens being killed for their fur, drastically reduced this distribution. By 1926, the main pine marten population in Britain was restricted to a small area of north-west Scotland. Martens are now increasing their range in Scotland, but it is not known whether their populations in England and Wales are expanding, or even if they still exist.
Prime habitats for pine martens seem to be well wooded areas, with high densities of voles that are their principal prey. Female pine martens with young are extremely sensitive to human disturbance, which can cause a female to move her young from a den or even eat them.
Increased forestry and enlightened estate management are likely to help pine martens recolonise their former haunts in the future. In areas where pine martens currently occur, practical management methods may also assist survival. Important measures that can be taken are planting connections between suitable habitats to prevent further fragmentation; creation and maintenance of cover particularly along streams, to provide travel routes and shelter and management of habitats for voles and other food items.
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great job, wildwood
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