A rare pine marten kit has been captured on camera in an area where there is no formal re-introduction programme.
Longleat Estate in Wiltshire revealed in February that two of the mammals had been spotted together, bringing hope of a family.
The safari park then made changes to support the animls, including installing den boxes and changing its woodland management.
“It’s extremely exciting that all that work has resulted in kits, said Longleat’s head of conservation and research, Dr Tom Lewis. “We now know that they are here to stay and we look forward to seeing our population expand further in the future.”
The elusive and cat-sized native mammal from the weasel family was once common across the UK, but habitat loss and hunting had pushed them to the brink of extinction by the beginning of the 20th century.