Project plots pine marten population

The mammal used to be widespread in the UK

A wildlife trust is launching a survey of the hard-to-spot pine marten.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust (NWT) will use trail cameras and look out for footprints, scratch-marks and other signs to get a better understanding of the local pine marten population.

The native mammal used to be widespread in the UK but now its distribution is England is "quite restricted", said NWT's nature reserve manager Katy Barke.

She said the survey would help the team understand the mammal's presence in the region at a finer scale.

Pine martens are part of the weasel family and are "notoriously shy", said Ms Barke.

"This makes them extremely difficult to detect, even with the use of trail cameras."

Pressures such as persecution, hunting and habitat loss have historically driven down numbers, but they appear to be making a comeback.

The first photographic evidence of the mammal in Northumberland was captured in 2018 in Kielder Forest, but it is known the animals were present in the region before then.

Ms Barke said studies suggest pine martens can benefit red squirrels by reducing grey squirrel numbers, reducing competition between them.