We all love trees. We think of woods and forests as green lungs, peaceful spaces, brimming with wildlife. So when Europe’s least forested country, Ireland, sets a target to increase tree cover from 11% to 18% by 2046, we should all applaud, shouldn’t we? Unfortunately the new woodland rising across Ireland is an ecological dead […]
The pine marten, a fearsome but diminutive predator driven to extinction in England, has returned to the country’s largest forest for the first time since 1926. Stills and video from a camera trap have recorded a mature pine marten devouring peanut butter put out for red squirrels at a secret location in Kielder forest, Northumberland. […]
The reintroduction of pine martens in Scotland has been controversial, but data from a new study revealsa potential bonus: These cat-sized predators could help the beleaguered red squirrel to bounce back. The study, which appears this month in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society B,” suggests that while pine martens prey on red squirrels, […]
Is there anything more stupid than the government’s plan to kill grey squirrels? I ask not because I believe – as Animal Aid does – that grey squirrels are harmless. Far from it: they have eliminated red squirrels from most of Britain since their introduction by Victorian landowners, and are now doing the same thing […]
Marten can be difficult to film, especially in the wild. The scenes in this short is filmed (some years ago) from a hide and as bate we used honey. Location is not far from the city of Molde, on the North West coast of Norway. I spent a whole day in the shed. […]
Hot topics Currently there are a few stories hitting the news across Mull; the possibility of Mull becoming a national nature reserve and the issue of the pine marten (Martes martes) breeding on the isle. It is safe to say I have some strong opinions on both of these hot topics. Here on the isle […]