Pine Marten

The Pine Marten is our rarest animal and seldom seen because they are mostly nocternal. They have a healthy population in counties like Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway and Clare where they are doing well. On the east coast Meath and Louth have some but in lesser numbers than their western counterparts. They mate from September to October and usually around three or four kits are born at March- April.They live in dens which can be a hole in a tree or in crevices in rocks. They usually have more than one den as they can travel up to 30 Kilometers a night around their territory. They eat anything from berries to rats, mice and frogs etc. they will also catch young rabbits and they are also been credited with the revival of our native Red Squirrel. They catch their grey cousins which are not as fast as the Red squirrel.The photos of the Martens on this web site were all taken on the Louth/Meath border of County Louth.