Pine marten kits have been born on Exmoor for the first time in over a hundred years, new footage has revealed. A female marten with four babies was captured by camera traps as they explored the woodland.
Pine marten kits were captured on Exmoor for the first time in a video
Nine females and 10 males from Scottish Highlands populations were introduced to the area by the Two Moors Pine Marten Project last year.
"The arrival of pine marten kits on Exmoor is a fantastic sign that these animals are beginning to establish themselves once again in the South West."
Nigel Garnsworthy, restore nature delivery manager at the National Trust, said the sighting shows the animals are beginning to establish themselves once again in the South West.
What does the footage show?
The footage shows a female pine marten with four babies as they explored the woodland, marking the first time kits have been recorded on Exmoor in over a hundred years. The discovery follows the introduction of pine martens to the area by the Two Moors Pine Marten Project last year.
Nine females and 10 males from Scottish Highlands populations were released as part of the reintroduction effort.
Why is the discovery significant?
The discovery is significant because the reintroductions were the first attempt to re-establish a sustainable breeding population of the tree-climbing members of the weasel family in the South West since they were hunted to extinction more than a century ago. Conservationists said the pine martens have proved to be highly mobile, shy of people and difficult to see.
The discovery comes a year after kits were filmed on Dartmoor, where the project released 15 pine martens in 2024.
"We were incredibly excited to finally see kits after so many months of intensive monitoring."
"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."
Ali North, field officer at the project for Exmoor, said the team was excited to finally see kits after many months of intensive monitoring and that the work had involved local people in tasks including building den boxes and installing and regularly checking remote cameras.
How secure is the comeback?
Despite the breeding success of pine martens on Exmoor and Dartmoor, project members warned that the animal's comeback to the region is still in its early, fragile stages.
The reintroductions were carried out by the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, which aims to restore the species to the South West after it disappeared more than a century ago. The tree-climbing mammals are part of the weasel family and are known to be highly mobile, shy of people and difficult to see.
On Dartmoor, the project released 15 pine martens in 2024, and kits were filmed there a year before the Exmoor footage revealed the first birth of kits in more than 100 years on Exmoor.
Key Facts
- Pine marten kits were recorded on Exmoor for the first time in over a hundred years.
- A female with four babies was captured on camera traps in woodland.
- Nine females and 10 males from Scottish Highlands populations were introduced last year.
- The Two Moors Pine Marten Project released 15 pine martens on Dartmoor in 2024.
- Project members say the comeback remains in its early, fragile stages.
