Ferreting out true numbers of feral rodents

LAST SUMMER I got a phone call from a man who lives locally to say that he had picked up the body of an animal that had been killed on the road and he was having an argument with some of his friends about its identification.

Would I settle the matter, he asked?

I was interested because, from the description, it sounded as though it might be a pine marten. I’ve had recent reports suggesting that pine martens are colonising this part of North Kildare, where they’ve been absent since historical times. But identifying a dead animal over the phone is not an easy business so I asked the caller if he would bring the carcass round to my house.