THE PINE MARTEN

The Pine Marten is native to Ireland ,its name in Irish is Cat Crainn it is one of our rarest mammals and was once common throughout the Island,by the 20th century it almost became extinct and was only present in small numbers in a few areas in Ireland.This was a result of persecution ,the fur trade, poisoning and habitat loss.Its numbers have increased it the last few years and it has spread again.The pine marten are responsible for the increase of the red squirrels again in certain areas of the country as they naturally control the grey squirrels numbers,as the greys are much easier to catch compared to the much smaller red squirrel.Grey squirrels are invasive to Ireland and when 12 individuals were shipped here from England in 1911 as a wedding present they escaped and have spread ever since they have impacted the reds because they carry a squirrel pox virus that the red squirrel can not fight off ,both this and the greys out compete them for food and space ,it takes about 15 years for them to to eradicate the reds from their area.Pine martens are also in low numbers in the UK where they have translocated 51 Pine Martens from Scotland to Wales in an effort too raise numbers again.Pine Martens in Ireland are protected under the wildlife act of 1976.