Pine marten seen in London for the first time in more than 100 years

2 years ago 103

A camera trap acceptable up successful Kingston, London, to show hedgehogs caught show of a conifer marten – an highly uncommon show successful confederate England

Environment 8 September 2022

By Adam Vaughan

A conifer marten (Martes martes) has been spotted successful London for the archetypal clip since the 19th century, and conscionable 3 years aft the taxon was reintroduced to confederate England.

While established successful parts of Wales and Scotland, and gradually recolonising bluish England, the once-common taxon is inactive precise uncommon successful confederate England. The carnal was captured by a camera trap acceptable up successful the London borough of Kingston to show hedgehogs, astir 50 kilometres from the closest caller sighting to the capital, successful 2016 successful East Sussex.

Kate Scott-Gatty astatine the Zoological Society of London says she usually has to sift done galore photos of foxes and dogs to find hedgehogs. “To find a conifer marten is beauteous extraordinary,” she says.

Exactly however the idiosyncratic came to beryllium recovered truthful acold from the closest known population, implicit 100 kilometres distant successful the New Forest, remains unclear. Given beavers look to person been released successful parts of England by radical who privation them to return, it’s imaginable it was deliberately released successful London. “That’s evidently a possibility,” says Scott-Gatty.

Pine martens are a generalist omnivore, eating everything from tiny mammals and birds to fungi, effect and berries, playing an important relation successful effect dispersal. Some conservationists person hoped they volition control populations of invasive grey squirrels, which they eat. Red squirrels, which greys person crowded retired successful overmuch of the UK, evolved alongside conifer martens truthful are amended astatine evading the predator.

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