Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Birth of rare kits breeds hope for wild comeback
The birth of a rare countryside predator has been caught on film for the first time near Canterbury.
Cameras captured the moment four pine martens were born in an enclosure at Wildwood Discovery Park, Herne Common.
The footage, worthy of a David Attenborough documentary, shows the tiny kits emerging into the world, as well as their first few weeks.
Park chief executive Peter Smith said: “We were thrilled to observe the birth from inside the nest box because nobody has seen that before.”
The weasel-like pine marten was once one of the most common British woodland predators, but was driven to the brink of extinction in the early part of the 20th century by loss of woodland and being killed by gamekeepers.
Now only small numbers exist in the north of England and Wales, although the Scottish Highlands has stronger populations.
Six kits had already been born at Wildwood since 2012. Of the latest litter, one died shortly after being born, but his siblings are
now playing in their enclosure.
Mr Smith believes the success of the breeding programme is due to a specially adapted enclosure and nest boxes built by keepers.
Pine martens are territorial and aggressive towards each other by nature.
Mr Smith said: “We had to build ‘love tunnels’ so they could see and get used to each other before actually coming into contact.
“It allows the animals to familiarise themselves while avoiding any unwanted physical confrontation. It is particularly crucial to prevent this as an expectant pine marten can self-terminate a pregnancy if they feel unsettled.”
Mr Smith hopes the pine marten will make a comeback in the wild in Kent with the help of the conservation park, which would place specially made nest boxes in natural woodland settings with breeding pairs.
Wildwood has launched an appeal to support its pine marten project.
To donate visit mydonate.bt.com/events/ pinemartenappeal/401155