Anja Murray: Our rarest native mammal — the pine marten — is making a comeback

This recovery of pine martens is a result of legal protection, a ban on the use of the poison strychnine, and an increase in tree cover across the country

Being so agile and adaptable, pine martens were known here as ‘cat crainn’ — ‘tree cat’. Like cats, they are carnivores, adept at catching small woodland birds such as robins and wrens, and nimble enough to catch squirrels, mice, rats, shrews, voles, frogs, and lizards too

For thousands of years, pine martens have been common across Ireland, clambering among the canopy of woodlands that once blanketed the landscape. But by the 1970s, these woodland predators came near to extinction here. Now, the benefits of their recovery is ricocheting through Irish ecosystems and helping red squirrels to gain lost ground too.

Being so agile and adaptable, pine martens were known here as ‘cat crainn’ — ‘tree cat’. Like cats, they are carnivores, adept at catching small woodland birds such as robins and wrens, and nimble enough to catch squirrels, mice, rats, shrews, voles, frogs, and lizards too. They will happily snack on smaller creatures such as beetles, earthworms, woodlice, spiders, and snails. In late summer and autumn they top up their meaty diets with vitamin-rich tree fruits such as haws and rowan berries. The few times I’ve glimpsed a pine marten I’ve been struck by how beautiful they are, with a sleek covering of rich chestnut brown fur, big dark eyes, and cute rounded ears that are highlighted by a rim of paler fur.