Granddad’s Camera
Pine marten, as it appears in the game

No.068 · Mammals · Very rare

Pine marten

Martes martes

A chocolate-brown, cat-sized hunter with a cream bib, slipping through the pines at dusk and after dark.

When to look

All year, mostly at dusk and night.

Time of day

Best time
Dusk and night all year, though they are sometimes active by day; in the Highland summer the light stays long, so late evening at a feeding site is the best bet.
Where in the game
the Cairngorms (pine forest)
Size
Head and body 46–54 cm, tail 18–27 cm
Weight
Males 1.5–2.2 kg, females 0.9–1.5 kg
Lifespan
Up to about 8 years in the wild
Population
About 3,700 in Great Britain (95% range 1,600–8,900), most in the Scottish Highlands and Grampians, and still spreading (Mammal Society, 2018)
Status
Least Concern (Great Britain and Scotland, Mammal Society)

Diet

Small mammals (at least 40% of the diet), plus squirrels, birds and eggs, beetles, berries, carrion and fungi

Habitat

Woodland, scrub and rocky ground; in Scotland found in pine, birch and broadleaf woods and increasingly open ground.

Breeding

One litter a year of 1–5 kits, born in a tree hole or den in March–April; the kits stay in the den for about six weeks and are first seen outside in late spring and early summer.

Field signs

  • Twisted, black droppings (scats) packed with fur and berry seeds, left on prominent rocks, logs and forest tracks
  • Cat-like paw prints, often in a straight line in snow
  • Scats at path junctions marking its territory
  • Eggs and bird boxes torn open

Did you know?

  • Pine martens have been recorded taking more grey squirrels than reds, so reds may benefit where martens are common, though other research suggests this only happens at very high marten densities (Mammal Society).
  • Each pine marten's cream bib is a unique shape, so individuals can be told apart from photos, and their semi-retractable claws make them superb climbers (Mammal Society).
  • Persecution by gamekeepers and habitat loss left the main British population restricted to a small area of north-west Scotland by 1926; since then they have spread again (Mammal Society).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Kits at the den tree May to July, dusk and night
    Two kits tumble out of a hollow pine and wrestle on the moss while their mother watches from a branch above.

Photo tip

Best from a hide at a licensed feeding site at dusk, shooting at high ISO with a wide lens and low-power red or warm light. Never use a flash on a wild marten.

Be a good naturalist

Pine martens are fully protected and den sites must never be disturbed. Use established feeding hides run by local guides and photographers; do not bait or track them yourself, and never enter a den.

The law

Fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it must not be trapped, sold or disturbed, and its den must not be damaged, except under licence

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