New kits spell success for pine marten reintroduction on Exmoor

A pioneering conservation project has released new evidence of its success in bringing the rare and endangered pine marten back to the South West of England.

Exclusive video footage gathered by the Two Moors Pine Marten Project shows a female marten with four of its offspring, known as kits, as they explore an Exmoor woodland. The film clip is the first proof that pine martens released by the project are breeding on Exmoor.

In 2024, the Two Moors Pine Marten Project reintroduced 15 pine martens to locations on Dartmoor. A further release of 19 pine martens followed on Exmoor in 2025. The reintroductions represented the first attempt to re-establish a sustainable breeding population of the tree-climbing members of the weasel family to the South West since they were hunted to extinction more than 100 years ago. The project followed similar successful initiatives in Wales (2015) and the Forest of Dean (2019) and is part of a national strategy to restore pine martens across England and Wales.

The Two Moors Pine Marten Project is led by Devon Wildlife Trust and involves a partnership of seven organisations including Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust. It has been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Since their release, the pine martens have proved to be highly mobile, shy of people and difficult to see. However, the project now has proof that pine martens are successfully breeding in both Exmoor and Dartmoor. Confirmation of this success has come from footage captured by some of the dozens of trail cameras installed by the project.

One clip from an Exmoor camera captures the moment when a female pine marten and her four kits visit a trail camera which has been specially baited with peanut butter and fish oil – a combination of smells and tastes which pine martens love!

Ali North is the Two Moors Pine Marten Project Field Officer for Exmoor. Ali said: 

"These clips were recorded on cameras being monitored by one of our brilliant project volunteers. We were incredibly excited to finally see kits after so many months of intensive monitoring. Mothers give birth in March or April and have on average 2-3 kits, so to see 4 with their mum was an amazing sight and suggests that Exmoor is the perfect home for these animals.

The news of breeding pine martens marks a wonderful moment for our project staff, our project partners and the dozens of volunteers who have worked with us to bring this native animal back. This has been a community effort with local people helping us in a series of key tasks ranging from building pine marten den boxes to installing and regularly checking remote cameras. There are a whole host of ways woodland owners can continue to help pine martens recover and we'd encourage anyone interested to get in touch."

Ali Hawkins, Senior Ecologist at Exmoor National Park Authority, said:

"Seeing pine martens breeding on Exmoor is a hugely encouraging milestone for nature recovery in the National Park. It shows what can be achieved through careful partnership working, long-term monitoring and the support of local communities. While this is very positive news, the population remains small and vulnerable, so continued public support and reporting of sightings will be vital as we help this native species re-establish itself."

Nigel Garnsworthy, Restore Nature Delivery Manager at the National Trust, said:
"The arrival of pine marten kits on Exmoor is a fantastic sign that these animals are beginning to establish themselves once again in the South West. This milestone reflects the strength of partnership working across the Two Moors Pine Marten Project and the dedication of volunteers, landowners and conservation organisations working together to restore nature at a landscape scale."

Similar clips of a female pine marten and offspring were recorded by the project on Dartmoor in 2025 confirming that breeding had taken place there. Now further film footage from Dartmoor suggests that pine martens have bred for a second successive year. Film showing a mother and two kits was captured by two Dartmoor residents, Tim and Rachael, on land close to where they live in the Wray Valley. Tim and Rachael said: 

"Since moving to the Wray Valley last year, we have been extremely lucky, as we have managed to capture quite a few trail cam videos of pine martens in the woods behind where we live. 

 

We have only ever filmed a single one at a time, so we couldn't believe our eyes when we downloaded this video of a mother with her two kits, playing alongside her. We feel very fortunate to have experienced this sighting and so glad to see the success of the Two Moors Pine Marten Project!"

 

Despite the breeding success of pine martens on Exmoor and Dartmoor the project is keen to stress that the animal's comeback to the region is still in its early, fragile stages. 

Daniel Brown is the Two Moors Pine Marten Project Field Officer for Dartmoor. Daniel said:

"Pine martens live at low density – meaning there aren't many of them around, even when they become established in a landscape. They are also slow breeders - giving birth to just one litter each year. This means their population growth is only gradual.

This makes their populations vulnerable to losses in road accidents, while trapping and poisoning from rodenticides are also a threat.

The vulnerability of the species means we're very keen to hear from people who see pine martens in Devon, Cornwall or Somerset. Sightings are vital in helping us track the progress of these elusive animals and landowners with trail cameras may also like to take part in our Citizen Science Woodland Survey."  

The Two Moors Pine Marten Project wants to hear from people who might have spotted a pine marten in the South West of England, especially if they have photographic evidence and details of the location. The project is also appealing for help from landowners on Exmoor and Dartmoor who own woodlands and who have access to their own trail cameras.

 Exmoor pine marten mother and 4 kits. Photo credit Two Moors Pine Martins Project

 CLICK HERE TO VIEW EXMOOR PINE MARTIN MOTHER & KITS video footage on Devon Wildlife Trust Youtube Channel

 Dartmoor pine marten mother and 2 kits. Photo credit Two Moors Pine Martin Project.

 

Contact details for the project along with lots more information about pine martens can be found at www.twomoorspinemartens.org

About the videos: 'The videos of pine marten kits were recorded in undisclosed Exmoor and Dartmoor woodlands. The Exmoor video shows a female and kits visiting a 'T-bar' used by the project and baited with peanut butter and fish oil. T-bars are used to attract pine martens so that the project can record the animals' presence on trail cameras. We estimate the kits in these films to be approx 3 months old. They appear slightly smaller than their mothers, while in the Exmoor video the mother also has a collar. This is a GPS tracker given to all the released animals'.

Pine martens are 'doing well' after South West releases

Pine martens in the South West of England have begun to produce young and are 'doing well' since their recent reintroduction, say experts. 

In autumn 2024, 15 pine martens were released at secret woodland locations on Dartmoor; while in autumn 2025 a further 19 animals were released at undisclosed spots on Exmoor. The reintroductions were the work of the Two Moors Pine Marten Project which is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is led by the charity Devon Wildlife Trust and is a partnership between seven organisations: Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust.

 

Pine martens had been missing from the region for more than 100 years after having been hunted and trapped to extinction. The animals are the size of a small cat and like to climb trees in search of food which includes wild fruits, mice, grey squirrels, and other small prey.

 

Tracking collars given to each animal before release have allowed the project to monitor their progress. Tracey Hamston is the Two Moors Pine Marten Project Lead. Tracey said:

 

"The collars have meant we can track the animals' movements. The results show that some pine martens stayed close to where they were released, but others travelled some distance, in a few cases more than 20 miles.

 

The Dartmoor pine martens seem now to have settled forming their own individual territories. Some of the Exmoor animals still seem to be mobile but we'd expect most to settle and establish a territory soon.

 

It's been amazing to see where the pine martens have travelled since their release. We can see that they've been thoroughly exploring the landscape before settling into their new woodland homes."    

 

The pine martens' collars are designed to cease to function and drop off after six months. In their place the project is now seeking to track the animals' progress using remote cameras positioned in local woodlands.

 

Last July, one of these cameras recorded images of a female pine marten and her three kits (youngsters) as they moved through a Dartmoor woodland. This was the first proof that the animals had bred successfully.

 

Tracey Hamston said:

"This was the news we were waiting for – proof that the pine martens have established themselves and are doing well. 

 

This year's kits should be being born on both Dartmoor and Exmoor around now. We hope to see evidence of this on our cameras when the kits become more active in May and June."

 

Abby Parravani is Forest Planner at Forestry England. Abby said:

"Forestry England is proud to be a partner in the Two Moors Pine Marten project. The encouraging results from collar tracking and camera trap monitoring are hugely rewarding for all involved in the project. As omnivores and predators, pine martens fulfil an important role in woodland ecosystems, helping to increase the resilience of forests, so we are thrilled that this native species is once again establishing in woodlands in the South West."

The Two Moors Pine Marten Project is now appealing to the public to help it keep tabs on the pine martens' whereabouts. It is asking anyone who sees a pine marten in the region to let them know where and when they spot them. The project would especially welcome photos or video of sightings. All records of pine marten encounters can be sent to a dedicated email address: pinemartens@devonwildlifetrust.org   

 

The precise locations of the animals are being kept secret by the project to minimise disturbance.  

 

The project is also keen to hear from woodland owners with wildlife cameras, especially those on or close to Dartmoor and Exmoor, who would be happy to take part in its Woodland Survey.

 

Ali North is the project's Exmoor Field Officer. Ali said:

"Pine martens are a highly mobile species and so they have kept us very busy trying to keep track of them.

 

We're excited to moving into the next phase of our monitoring using camera traps to catch a glimpse into their elusive woodland antics. We hope many landowners will want to get involved in our newly launched woodland citizen science survey to help us track their distribution over time."

Two Moors Pine Marten Project. Photo ©Mark Hamblin 2020Vision (All Rights Reserved)

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Landowners with woodland and who have cameras are being encouraged to contact the project via pinemartens@devonwildlifetrust.org

People can find out much more about pine martens and the Two Moors Pine Marten Project at www.twomoorspinemartens.org