Rare sighting of a pine marten in London woods!
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Have you heard of pine martens?
Well, they're not usually animals you'd find in the wild in London…
Pine Martens are small mammals that look similar to weasels or ferrets. They're covered in brown fur, and have a light brown patch under their heads.
They're usually found in Scotland or the North of England, but this team of wildlife photographers discovered one in a London woodland, when it walked into an area being monitored by CCTV.
As part of a project to monitor hedgehogs in London, the Zoological Society of London had set up cameras all around the city.
As well as seeing hedgehogs, they often see foxes and badgers wandering around at night time, and keep track of the species they capture on camera.
They caught an image of this pine marten exploring the woodland floor.
They weigh around 1 to 2 kilograms
As well as berries, they mainly eat smaller mammals like voles and rabbits
Pine Martens like to be alone, they only meet up in summer for mating
They're very shy animals and like to hide out in woodland
Information from Woodland Trust
Caught on camera, researchers were shocked to see a pine marten in London
"You can imagine our surprise at seeing a pine marten - a species usually only glimpsed in Scotland and northern England." Said Kate Scott-Gary, HogWatch project research assistant.
It's not known how this pine marten made its way to South London. However, an animal expert says wildlife returning to an area could mean the habitat is improving.
Pine Martens are extremely rare in most parts of England and Wales.
The wildlife photographers behind the project say they will be keeping a close eye on them and will look out for any future sightings!
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