Pine martens introduced into the Forest of Dean
People interested in wildlife in general and squirrels in particular will be closely following the progress of pine martens recently introduced into the Forest of Dean in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Eighteen martens were moved from Scotland to the Forest of Dean by Forestry England, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, the Vincent Wildlife Trust and Forest Research and fitted with radio-collars before release. Few pine martens are thought to be currently present in England, but more than 50 pine martens were successfully released into Wales between 2015 and 2017. Over the years the non-native grey squirrel has caused a great deal of damage to trees in the Forest of Dean and elsewhere. There is evidence from Ireland and Scotland that the number of grey squirrels in an area decline when pine martens move in. Thus we wait and see what will happen to the grey squirrel population once the pine martens become established. (BBC News, The Independent, PA Media, Evening Express, The Guardian, The Canary, Shroud News)