NATURE TABLE: Pine Marten

Pine martens are native Irish carnivores, related to the stoat, otter and badger.

They are about the size of a domestic cat with a bushy tail and generally brown or russet fur with a creamy white throat patch. In the early part of the last century they came close to extinction due to human persecution and habitat loss.

Only small and isolated populations remained, mainly along the western sea-board. In the past 20 years there has been a remarkable increase in numbers and range, though they are still uncommon in Ulster and much of Munster.