Pine Marten in Worthing - the best laid plans
Fran Southgate
Nature Recovery Manager
How amazing it was to open up my emails to see a flurry of excitement about a Pine Marten in Worthing. This highly unusual sighting of one of our most rare native creatures came with stunning photos of a very healthy-looking animal dancing around in a suburban garden. We have checked with local animal rescue centres and, as far as we can tell, it is a wild animal.
The reason for the excitement is that the nearest known breeding colony of Pine Marten is in the New Forest in Hampshire. The only verified sighting of a Pine Marten in the South East this year was in Surrey, and the last known record of Pine Marten in Sussex was nearly a century ago. If it’s not a Pine Marten ‘bombing’, then it is a very exciting development in the recovery of native species to Sussex.
Ironically, Sussex Wildlife Trust have been supporting the South East Pine Marten Recovery Project for the last three years. This project has been undertaking a full stakeholder engagement programme and feasibility studies to show where the most suitable habitats and migration routes for Pine Marten are. Worthing was definitely not on the list! And we had not anticipated any animals being reintroduced for a few years yet.
It goes to show how resilient wildlife can be. If we restore the resources, habitat networks and migration routes they need, nature can and will recover. The best laid plans of humans are often unknown to wildlife, and in the end, given the opportunity, species will behave instinctively and in a way that we often can’t predict. I can’t wait to see where the next Pine Marten appears!
To allay any concerns expressed on social media
- This is a native, wild animal. We would not attempt to catch or trap the animal unless it is obviously injured or sick.
- We have contacted local wildlife rescue centres and as far as we can tell this is a free roaming, wild animal.
- If you see a Pine Marten – please report it here NPMMP Incidental Pine Marten Sightings
