{"id":4648,"date":"2019-10-18T16:37:28","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T16:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/?p=4648"},"modified":"2019-11-22T13:07:12","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T13:07:12","slug":"pine-martens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/18\/pine-martens\/","title":{"rendered":"Return of the Pine Marten"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0One of Britain’s Rarest Mammals Returns to Forest of Dean<\/h1>\n

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The pine marten, once common in English woodlands, has teetered on the brink of extinction \u2013 until now. In September 2019, 18 pine mine martens were successfully released into the Forest of Dean.<\/p>\n

The release, a collaboration between Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust<\/a>, Forestry England<\/a>, Vincent Wildlife Trust<\/a>, Scottish Natural Heritage<\/a> and Forest Research, is a major milestone in an effort to bring the pine marten back home<\/a>. The ultimate goal is to successfully establish a source population to support the recovery of pine martens in England.<\/p>\n

Nature Picture Library photographer Nick Upton<\/a> was given privileged access to photograph the release. As a result, he was able to capture the moment when one of the pine martens left its soft release cage, finally setting paws on English soil. The marten originally came from Scotland, where populations are currently expanding.<\/p>\n