One of Britain’s rarest and most elusive animals has been found in Wales, after a hunt lasting more than 40 years – the pine marten.
A tree-climbing relative of the otter and the stoat, the pine marten had become extinct throughout much of Britain by the early 20th century, although numbers of the animal survived in Scotland.
But in Wales its continued existence has been problematic and no sight has been made of the animal, living or dead, since a carcass was found in 1971.
Now, however, a carcass of a pine marten which had been killed by a vehicle has been found on the roadside near Newtown in Powys, and DNA analysis has confirmed that the young male was a native British animal.
The article notes the animals were in Scotland. There is no mention if there were sightings in the north of England. So, I am not sure if it makes sense to assume a possibility that the animals repopulated from Scotland or if small populations remained from the original. But this is very interesting.