Conservationists say pine martens are "doing well" after being being reintroduced to parts of south-west England.

Dozens of the mammals, which are related to weasels, have been released into secret locations across Dartmoor and Exmoor since autumn 2024 as part of the Devon Wildlife Trust Two Moors Pine Marten project, News.Az reports, citing BBC.

In July, it was confirmed the animals - which had disappeared from the region more than 100 years ago after being hunted and trapped to extinction - had successfully bred.

Project lead Tracey Hamston said the births were the "news we were waiting for" and were hopeful more young pine martens, called kits, would be spotted soon.

"This year's kits should be being born on both Dartmoor and Exmoor around now," Hamston said.

"We hope to see evidence of this on our cameras when the kits become more active in May and June."She added the tracking had shown some of the pine martens, which are the size of a small cat, had moved more than 20 miles (32km) away from where they were released.

She said: "It's been amazing to see where the pine martens have travelled since their release.

"We can see that they've been thoroughly exploring the landscape before settling into their new woodland homes."

The project has asked people to report if they see a pine marten to help with ongoing tracking operations.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova