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Author Topic: Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'  (Read 8051 times)

admin

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Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« on: May 09, 2013 »


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A conservation study has found that the pine marten may be facing extinction in the Mourne mountains.

Pine marten are about the size of a cat and are habitat specialists, requiring woodland to survive.

Due to their rarity, they are fully protected by law and are a conservation priority species in Northern Ireland.

The study estimated that the total breeding population of pine marten in the entire Mournes was 23, with only nine females identified.

It was also noted that pine marten appeared to be breeding in only a few forests in the Mournes.

"A breeding population in the low 20s is critically small and indicates that the pine marten population in the Mournes is in a precarious state," Dr Declan O'Mahony of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) said.

"In the absence of evidence to the contrary, their future existence in the region may be in question."

Potential threats to the population include extreme weather, inbreeding and forest management practices.

"If even a few breeding females are lost in the Mournes then the pine marten population may face a real threat to its survival," Dr O'Mahony said.

"The recent extreme cold and snow could have had a major impact on the pine marten and other wildlife, similar to the major impacts seen on farm livestock."

Other recent studies carried out by Dr O'Mahony suggest that there may only be 320 pine marten in Northern Ireland.

"We need to get serious about the conservation of our rare wildlife species of which pine marten should be seen as a priority," Dr O'Mahony said.

"The pine marten population is very small in Northern Ireland and we urgently need research on this species to understand its ecology, distribution, local abundance and population trends to ensure its long-term viability."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22455587
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FlapJack

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Re: Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2013 »
Great, we should build a cable car ::)
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Wolverine

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Re: Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2013 »
Had just read the article on bbc website, very sad to hear. Such a lovely species and I hope a concerted effort is made to preserve and prolong their Mournes existence.
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sjh1

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Re: Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2013 »
There is simply not enough good habitat for 'specialist' animal species to exist in NI in good numbers. Agriculture has degraded the vast majority of our countryside. Fertilisers, pesticides and overgrazing continue to make things worse. By and large the uplands are not wild, they are unnatural sheep-farms and conifer plantations. Conservation and government organisations often don't help by promoting 'scrub clearance' in remaining semi-natural areas!

As I have said many, many time the removal of sheep from some areas of our uplands would go a large way towards improving the habitats. Might allow scrubby woodland to regenerate which would benefit martens for a start. Across the water the lower slopes of hills are much better vegetated than ours, how is it possible over there but not here?

Focusing on a single endangered species is a daft way to go about conservation. Generalist species which can lively closely alongside human activity (such as crows and foxes ... which are still great!) will be all we have left in NI if current trends continue.
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What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.

... from 'Inversnaid' by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

KyleL

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Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2013 »
I agree with above. And to add:

The only way the trends will change is if the attitude to the outdoors changes. The reality is, no-one cares. The only people who will make a difference are not the ones paid to do so, but the ones that actually care. That's us. Better laws and incentives for campers to look after the land we camp in would go a long way. Camping is currently illegal, lighting a fire is currently illegal, hiking in certain areas of the Mournes is frowned upon, and yet you still see rubbish lying around from your average hoody gathering from Tollymore all the way to the top of Bernagh.

Sure, it's not rubbish that is killing these animals but when I see groups like us going out and spending their free time off work doing a mass rubbish collection I can't help but think what else we could be recruited to do. If the powers that be realised that there are people out there willing to help and stopped treating them like criminals we might actually be able to do something about the apparent degradation of our not-so-wildlife.

I am aware that the above laws are not enforced, but they do exist and they are a little bit insulting - considering I'm sure I care about the land more than the office nerds who came up with the laws. In short, wild campers are an untapped resource.
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sjh1

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Re: Pine marten 'face Mourne mountains extinction'
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2013 »
I think policy is just wrong in a lot of areas. Some (not all) of these 'office nerds' will have got an environmental degree but actually know nothing about wildlife. It is amazing how little you need to know or understand to get such a degree (I've got one myself!). Things like scrub clearance, conservation grazing or predator control are then put into practice based on European or UK policy, often without looking at our local or site specific situations. I fully understand the theory behind these measures ... I just think they are often wrong in our local context.

And the image of farmers as "guardians of the countryside" is wrong. Through no real fault of their own the majority of them are destroying what remains of our natural environment. They see the countryside in terms of tidiness, profit and productivity. May be too controversial for conservation organisations to say this, but attitudes and practice won't change until somebody does.

Laws against camping and fires are ridiculous in this context! Efforts such as litter-picks are laudable but as Kyle says more could be done through independent or organised voluntary effort. Although groups such as Mourne Heritage Trust might already organise volunteering days? The best thing for wildlife is often simply to leave areas well alone. Such a simple measure that never seems to get much support for some reason!
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What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.

... from 'Inversnaid' by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
 

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