One of the UK’s rarest native mammals has been handed in to Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre in Tewkesbury.
On the evening of 21 April, the wildlife rescue centre had a pine marten, weighing only 105g, brought into their hospital.
The tiny kit was discovered in a rubbish bin alongside two deceased siblings. The pine marten was then brought into the centre by a hedgehog carer who believed he might be a fox cub.
Natalie Gould, who works at Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre described how special it is for the animal to have been brought into their care, explaining how in the 42 years for which the centre has been open they have never had a pine marten admitted.
She went on to say how the little animal is “absolutely adorable” but is “very loud”.
“His eyes and ears are still closed at the moment, he is blind and deaf, up until about 5 weeks of age. We guess he is around the 2 weeks mark at the moment, but sadly we don’t know for certain.”
Credit: Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre
The centre explained how the little kit is now in the care of one of their experienced hand-rearing team members and will stay with them until he’s weaned. They will then gradually become more hands-off to ensure he doesn’t become imprinted – which will give him the best possible chance at life back in the wild.
Pine martens were once widespread across the UK however they suffered huge declines due to habitat loss and historic persecution, due to their thick fur. The wildlife centre says admissions like this show signs that the populations are slowly recovering.
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