The Pine Marten

[@WyrdWoodsIreland]

What a beautiful elusive creature, it's amazing to see one up close. Thanks for sharing this little guy with us 🌳👍

[@ryanalexander3088]

Warms the heart to see the resurgence

[@sonjadodge7456]

So cute!

[@timfromtang]

The Gray Squirrels do not have a predator which behaves like the pine marten in their natural environment and are easier prey for the pine marten than the reds which have co evolved with the pine marten. At home in our forest in Tang it is with great pleasure I watch the reds again. They declined and were replaced with grays when I was a boy, the grays went into rapid decline in the late 90's and early 2000's and have now been replaced with reds. There are many factors responsible not least of which was the planting of a further 100 acres of broadleaves from 1996-2004.

[@AShotOfWildlife]

Great story. I think over the next 20 years their will be a wave of pine martens followed by the re-colonising of red squirrels. I cant wait. I have nothing personally against grey squirrels but I do like a more natural ecosystem.

[@forestdweller5581]

Sure the greys have predators you forgot to mention. Foxes, all birds of prey can get them. Cats, dogs. But people do love the little red squirrels indeed.

[@Nitka022]

I knew there are no wolves, bears, lynxes, beavers....but it looks like even little harmless martens were extinct! Britain it seems has become wildlife graveyard....and nobody noticed for decades! glad species are coming back now!

[@forestdweller5581]

It's not that species are coming back. It's more people. They all have the phones with the camera. So it's a lot more animals being recorded. More people using the camera-traps.

[@AShotOfWildlife]

Wonderful video. I think we will have pine martens across the country within the next 20-30 years. I think they will make a come-back not dissimilar to that of the otter.

[@forestdweller5581]

I wouldn't be too sure they are gone. From what i have learned by our reseach.

[@Followmeoutdoors]

I have only ever seen a few here in Hokkaidō Japan, although they are not so rare here, they are extremely shy... beautiful animals.

[@indyreno2933]

Ictonychidae (Zorillas, African Striped Weasel, Marbled Polecat, Patagonian Weasel, Grisons, Wolverine, Tayra, Martens, and Fisher) vs Eupleridae (Malagasy Carnivorans) which one of these carnivoran families would win?

[@forestdweller5581]

Pine martens here like the city habitat. When the droughts and heatwaves leave the forest dead, where else can they get food and water? And those heatwaves are just getting worse all the time. The city is their most viable place to be. Full of birds, garbage to eat, ponds to drink from. The nature areas are so abused. For a pine marten here there is no better place than an empty house for sale. It's their property so to speak. The Dutch pine marten specialists from the mammal society never knew although they live here in the city. No of course not. They didn't even look for them. Their tracks are so easy to find with some basic knowledge about the species. Urban pine martens have a population density 10 times higher than in the woods. Same with other species of animals. I can't imagine it being much different elsewhere. Our city can hardly be the only one they have adapted to. The city offers very good possibilities for tracking them. I went out 5 times at night and ran into a pine marten 3 times. I don't recommend that to anyone though. It's dangerous being out at night in the city. The camera traps we set filmed them so many times....but i don't recommend that either. Even if you lay out so much bait.....they are hardly interested with so much other food choices. Tracking is the way to go. We put out so much peanut butter, jam, sardines. chicken, dog food and so on....pine marten is suspicious of the camera traps and just goes somewhere else to steal food. They like milkshakes, hamburgers, chocolate bars.... We find the empty packaging or cups and measure the teeth marks. Around 11 millimeters. Up to 13 millimeters even....they grow big and fat on that garbage just like humans do. We know some pine martens that specialise in raiding the hotels....they get microwave meals and for some reason...bottles of biological dishwashing liquid. Every garbage can in town....they have been there. Every birch tree is covered in scratchmarks. Feisty little things they are!

[@RoryVanucchi]

Nice

[@SauronIkitalvi]

Mustelidae family members are wonderful and beautiful creatures.

[@Kolajer]

Of course his name is Martin

[@awilderireland]

Great footage. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKPTYZ98breJeM0 Here's my pal Marty filmed not too far from a large town. I have a playlist of Pine Marten footage on my channel. As mentioned in the VWT video they are starting to do well again in Ireland and are extending their range. But are still considered a rare sight in general. But that is partly due to their nature. They were restricted to only one or two areas (e.g. the Burren in Co. Clare) and close to extinction until quite recently. So there is hope for England and Wales.

[@tangle70]

Funny, the red squirrels here in the US are bigger than the grey ones.

[@wizewoods9130]

The grey's in my yard(Maine) are much bigger than the reds.

[@tangle70]

@@wizewoods9130 I lived in Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia and the reds where always bigger.

[@AShotOfWildlife]

Thats pretty interesting. Do you know the name of the actual species? I wouldnt imagine they were the same as what we get here.

[@tangle70]

@@AShotOfWildlife Fox and grey squirrels are what I heard them always called.

[@thebabbler8867]

@@AShotOfWildlife Actually Fox Squirrels are the biggest in North America.

[@dazv3605]

Martens are very scarce in the UK, and strangely quite common in France. I've seen stone martens near train stations, very surprising given that mustelids are shy aren't they?

[@potatojuice9615]

Fun fact its the national animal of croatia

[@dazv3605]

@@potatojuice9615 Didn't know that, I do see dens when walking my dog but I don't know that martens (beech) have any. How come the UK doesn't have beech martens? They're pretty widespread in France and even considered a nuisance. I saw one at a train station running across the railway track. I love mustelids. Great video by the way.

[@aldi3369]

Where I live in Scotland they are definitely not rare.

[@akatgrl4247]

this is my patronus. i’m confused.

[@darklingeraeld-ridge7946]

.... hence the release of a number in the Forest of Dean recently. I have been seeing alarming numbers of grey squirrels there, teeming, and doing considerable damage.

[@andrewwilson2071]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@olivia8660]

Out of context here but Pine Martins are my Protronus (Harry Potter) and there so amazingly adorable

[@mori_a.Wolfboi]

Who here is a furry

[@tweektweak3717]

me but therian