Scotland's martens are finding new homes
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PART of the satisfaction of writing this column is the reaction from readers, which range from identification problems to comments about wildlife.
Interestingly the subject that crops up more than any other is about one of the rarest mammals in the UK – the pine marten.
It is the second rarest carnivore after the wildcat, and the number of emails about them, often including a photograph, is a reflection of their increase in recent years.
Pine martens are often the subject of this column, and early this year I wrote about the proposed plans to capture some in the Highlands and release them in Wales.
The reintroduction programme was instigated by the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT). The plans have come to fruition and the first release has already taken place.
Over the years various bodies and individuals have taken up the cause of the pine marten with varying success.
One of the most successful schemes has been the VWT’s, and it is fitting that on its 40th anniversary this splendid organisation is playing a major role in the conservation of the pine marten.
Of course, the VWT has always played a major role in pine marten conservation. For that matter, it has had similar success with other mammals such as the otter and water vole.
So it has been good to see the latest press releases from VWT saying that the first release of pine martens has already taken place in Wales.
The first batch were from animals caught in Scotland and transferred to release pens in Wales under licences issued by Scottish Natural Heritage.
The release pens in Wales have been designed and built by staff from Chester Zoo, and the idea is that 20 pine martens are released this year and a further 20 next autumn.
There are a number of other organisations involved and the five-year programme will cost an estimated £1.2 million.
Presumably, and hopefully, this takes all the monitoring of the released pine martens into account.
Monitoring reintroduction programmes such as previous ones on otters, sea eagles and red kites are very time-consuming and expensive. Dedicated people are needed to carry out such programmes.
The need is obvious as there is no point in reintroducing wildlife if it is not carefully monitored afterwards.
Despite the age of some of these existing programmes they are still monitored annually, and this will continue into the future.
Make no mistake, the reintroduction of pine martens will have problems.
Many years ago I was involved with one of scheme.
The problem was the release of young pheasants for shooting. They are placed into release pens and the pine martens are quick to see the advantage in raiding them, with many pheasants potentially killed.
If a pine marten is presented with large numbers of young pheasants it will kill more than it can eat. Many people mistakenly regard this as "blood killing" or killing for the sake of it. But this is far from the truth as the pine marten is simply caching food for future feeding.
Once the mammal has had its fill, it could bring in dependant young to feed or return itself. So it is survival rather than killing for sake of killing.
The idea, supported by the VWT, was to design a release pen that was marten proof. My role was to monitor the progress, which meant several visits to the site which was on an estate not too far from Inverness.
In the end the design worked but it involved so many factors, such as no overhanging trees and a high fence, that it would never have been financially feasible, especially on the numerous small shoots.
As for the Welsh reintroduction programme, the crunch time will come next spring when the martens have their young, called kits, sometimes cubs. They will have up to five, though the average is one to three.
If the breeding is successful in Wales then another crunch time will be when the kits leave their home territory.
They often travel great distances in search of home ranges of their own. Typically the females do not give birth until they are three years old.
Congratulations to the Vincent Wildlife Trust and fingers crossed for the Welsh initiative.
