Free the Martes martes!

I never quite know what I’m going to discover during my trips into the countryside.

Hidden away in the woodlands and the more isolated areas of the moors and valleys of our countryside are traps of all kinds that have been set for the mammals and birds that are seen by some to interfere with their business of rearing birds to be shot for entertainment.

In crow cages and Larsen traps, a live bird is kept in the cage as a decoy to attract other birds down into the cage where they themselves are then trapped and will be later killed. Spring traps are set on dry stone walls, around pheasant release pens and across rivers and burns.

And of course, there are the notorious wire snares that trap any mammal which is unfortunate enough to put its head or body through the loop of this device.  However, I want to tell you about a trip that I made recently which gave me a brief chance to admire an amazing and rare mammal within the Scottish countryside.

It started with a quiet hissing sound coming through the dense woodland. I’m quite familiar with the many natural sounds of the countryside, but this sound stopped me in my tracks. I stood for a while, not quite sure from what direction this almost snake-like noise had come. There it was again, but this time louder and not far from where I was standing.

As I walked forward, the trees became less dense and so I stopped again and slowly scanned my surroundings. Suddenly, at the corner of my eye, I saw a sharp movement of something at ground level and as I turned to see exactly what it was, the hissing started again and became louder. Using my binoculars I zoomed in and there he was.

A magnificent animal, rarely seen, but beautiful in its looks and so full of character. Caught in a cage, a little bigger than a microwave oven, was a pine marten (Martes martes).

Some facts about Pine Martens

Pine martens are cat-sized members of the weasel family with long bodies (65–70cm) covered with dark brown fur. They have a large creamy white throat patch which is often tinged with orange, big dark eyes and large rounded ears. Pine martens are excellent climbers with sharp, gripping claws and a long bushy tail for balance.

They can leap over 3 metres from branch to branch and sometimes look as if they are flying between the trees. The soles of their feet are hairy which stops them slipping when it is icy. They bound along the ground, rather than walk.

The pine marten’s ideal home is in native woodland although they live in many other places, including conifer plantations and rocky hillsides. They patrol their extensive home ranges and leave droppings on the tops of large stones and in other places where they can easily be seen, to warn off intruders.

They use the same well worn paths again and again. They make their breeding nests among rocks, in hollow trees or in a bird or squirrels’ nest. They have up to five young which are born in April. Pine martens also have a few temporary resting places (dens) within the area in which they live which they use from time to time.

Releasing the pine marten

Cages, such as the one that our pine marten had been trapped in, are often used to catch foxes and will always be baited with meat to attract the unsuspecting animal. However, it isn’t unknown for other animals such as cats, badgers and other carnivorous mammals to get caught in the traps.

All non-target animals should be released, but sadly the fox will be shot. On this occasion it was an adult male pine marten - a protected species. The bait, which had attracted the animal into the cage, had been all but eaten and I would say that the animal had been caught in this trap for some time, possibly up to two days.

As I approached the cage, the animal hissed at first and lifted his back up to make himself appear bigger, but after a minute or so he relaxed a little and I began the job of releasing him, but only once I had looked him over carefully to be sure that he was in a fit state to be released. I had always wanted to see the elusive pine marten, but certainly not in these circumstances.

Being careful not to be bitten, I slowly lifted the rings which held the door to the cage shut. It appeared that the animal knew what I was doing as it pushed against the door in anticipation. Before I could lift both rings fully, the pine marten squeezed through the gap of the door and he was gone! Job done, I thought as I watched him dart away in a blur, graceful and bold, and hopefully now a little wiser from his experience.

The thousands of traps that are set throughout the UK to trap and kill animals are in the main legal, but have been known to be used in an illegal manner to trap or kill protected animals. Of course at OneKind we are against any kind of trapping device which harms an animal.  In a future blog I will describe  the types of traps that you may come across in the countryside - and what you should do if you believe the trap to be illegal or you discover an animal suffering in a trap.