NATURE TABLE: Pine martin

The pine martin is a mustelid, a carnivorous mammal related to the otter, the stoat, the introduced American mink and, more surprisingly, the badger.

Up until recently they were rare animals with a few fragmented populations, mainly along the western seaboard but with one isolated population in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

However, towards the end of the last century there was a sudden and dramatic increase in their number and range and they are now probably present in significant numbers in every county. At the same time, observers noted a decrease in the number of grey squirrels east of the Shannon, followed by some increase in the number of native red squirrels.