An extremely rare Pine Marten has been spotted on a camera trap for the first time in 100 years.
Charlie and Rachel Fayers were left in pure ‘disbelief’ after seeing a member of the critically endangered species.
The married couple who run the environmental conservation organisation A Patch Wilder set up camera traps to monitor animals in the area.
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The footage left the pair ‘dumbfounded’ after they instantly recognised the Pine Marten.
The camera trap was set up in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, where the species has been ‘extinct’ for 100 years.
Despite efforts being made to reintroduce them to the New Forest, Wales, Forest of Dean and Dartmoor, none have been released to the area.
In the jaw-dropping footage, the curious Pine Marten even brushes up against the camera.
The return of the animal could pose a positive impact for native red squirrels, with the species known to hunt grey squirrels.
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The video was captured on 4 Sep with the couple from Sandhurst and Oxford retrieving the footage on 23 Sep.
“I was dumbfounded and disbelieving when I first saw the video,” Charlie told What’s The Jam.
“I watched it three times over, then called Rachel to come and see what she thought.
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“We have both seen pine martens in the wild in Scotland, so I realised pretty much instantly what we were looking at.
“In Somerset, they have been functionally extinct for over 100 years.
“It is very exciting to see a large, charismatic animal like this back within its former range.
“There has been huge interest from people locally, and this kind of excitement can really help to boost motivation with conservationists, land managers and members of the public to restore habitats and to get out and monitor them because who knows what you might find.
“We will most definitely be increasing our use of cameras, and we will be testing different methods for increasing our chances of encounters with pine martens.
“We have been in contact with someone to install tree cavity features, which could be used for dens, and we will be putting out food to attract animals to the cameras.”
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