This weekend, we travelled to Waterford, Ireland for the launch of our new Mammals in a Sustainable Environment (MISE) project, which aims to increase community involvement in mammal conservation (see more info here - http://www.vwt.org.uk/mammals.php).

Whilst we were there, we joined some of the staff at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), one of six partners in the MISE project, to do some pine marten trapping. The team at WIT have been carrying out a census of the pine marten population in a local forest in Co Waterford for the last few years, using DNA to understand changes in the population. DNA is collected from pine martens through their scats, hair collected from hair tubes and hair collected from animals that are live trapped. These samples are then DNA genotyped to fingerprint each individual in the area, allowing WIT to monitor increases and decreases in the population, new animals moving into the area, kits being born, animals leaving the area and so on.

We spent one (very early!) morning and one (very long!) night live trapping martens and couldn't resist sharing the photos!

 

Traps were baited with chicken and cheese, covered with straw and checked every 3 hours (this was necessary as some female are lactating at this time of year and so shouldn't be separated from their young for too long.)

It is easy to tell from a distance whether a trap is occupied, as martens pull the straw into the trap to make themselves comfortable.

Animals are weighed and sexed and a small hair sample is taken using a sticky pad, for DNA analysis.

They are then given a tasty treat of a spoonful of jam (which they rather enjoy!) and then released.

It's definitely true what they say about martens having a sweet tooth!

This male was very obliging and rather fancied himself as a media star, letting us take lots of photos!

It was a great experience to be able to see these beautiful animals up close. We also spotted one dashing along the road and leaping onto a wall whilst driving back from the forest at 4am. And of course, they left their signs all over the forest for us keen scatologists to see!

 

This work being carried out at Waterford Institute of Technology provides a crucial insight into the lives of the otherwise secretive pine marten and the results can help us to learn more about how to conserve these special animals. We hope to be involved in much more research like this throughout the course of our MISE project, so watch this space for more info!