Pine martens return to Dartmoor after 150-year absence

Pine martens were driven to extinction in England at the turn of the 20th century. Photograph: Mark Hamblin/2020VISION/Devon Wildlife Trust/PA

Fifteen pine martens are darting through the woods of Dartmoor for the first time in 150 years after the rare but recovering species was reintroduced into south-west England.

The nimble, tree-climbing mustelids were released last month at secret locations in the steep, tree-lined valleys of Devon in what conservationists are hailing as a historic step in the restoration of the region’s woodlands.