Predators
the impact of rising pine marten numbers on species of wild birds that are already struggling. And there are conflicts with people who keep birds, from householders with hens in the garden to those whose livelihoods depend on raising and breeding them. “Pine martens are small and smart, they dig and climb and even swim to reach prey,” explains Emma. “Like many mustelids, they may get into a pen and kill everything. This can be perceived as evil, and killing for fun, but they are just following their instinct to cache abundant foods. It can be a problem, especially where pine martens are relatively new to an area and there maybe isn’t the experience or funding to improve poultry housing.” Crucially, individual species need to be seen not in isolation but in terms of their wider habitat and the complex network of interactions that occur within them. “Our main focus is on an ecosystem scale, working for connected, healthy habitat,” explains Sarah Robinson, the Trust’s Director of Conservation. “The return of the pine marten tells us that the habitat is there, and that pine martens have – and will continue to – naturally spread to our reserves.”
The mustelid family reveals insights into the dynamics of predator and prey, native and non-native. “Inevitably, we are going to see change from any predator returning, because of what we have become used to in the absence of certain species,” adds Sarah. “The natural world is dynamic, change is constant, but we also have to address unnatural, human-induced changes – for example, by managing the
Once, I saw an otter take an enormous dogfish almost the same size as itself.
invasive American mink. Its presence has had disastrous consequences for native wildlife such as water voles and ground-nesting birds.”
OTTER COMEBACK
Although still classified as ‘vulnerable’ on a recent Red List of Scottish Mammals, otters have also made a return to much of their former range across Scotland. However, unlike some of their mustelid cousins, their disappearance was not down to deliberate persecution but the use of chemicals in pesticides that washed into rivers and accumulated in the food chain. When the toxins were banned, and habitat restored, otters began a gradual return.
Though elusive, otters have been recorded at many Trust reserves, including Bawsinch and Duddingston in Edinburgh, Loch of the Lowes in Perthshire, and Handa Island off the coast of Sutherland – where Ranger Johnny Rolt has spent lockdown as part of a team of three and always feels “truly blessed” when he spots one of the animals.
“They are incredible creatures and so elusive that it makes a sighting even more special,” explains Johnny. “You have to put the time in, but they’re worth the wait.”
On Handa, it’s the intertidal zone of rocks and seaweed that is the otter’s domain. “I’ve mostly seen them feeding on crustaceans and catching fish that shelter in the seaweed. Once, I saw an otter take an enormous dogfish, almost the same size as itself!”
However, the joy that many wildlife- watchers feel when they encounter an otter is not always shared by those whose fish or ducklings disappear from the garden pond, or anglers concerned about fish stocks. And otters can also be an expensive problem for fish farms and commercial fisheries. But Johnny says that the local fishermen he has spoken with are also pleased to see otters – “they are seen as a good thing” – with one even describing the delight of watching them make snow slides in his garden. “Otters are apex predators at the very top of the food chain,” adds Johnny. “So, if otters are here it means there is a healthy environment – the water quality is good and fish stocks are plentiful.” Pluses and minuses, gains and losses. It’s all part of the picture of living with predators and raises questions that have no easy answers. Who gets to decide which species are more important? And how do we make such decisions? “The word ‘predator’ has negative connotations even for those who love wildlife,” concedes Sarah Robinson. “Ultimately, we need to celebrate biodiversity, and mustelids are a fascinating part of our natural environment that we don’t celebrate enough.”
Anna Levin is a freelance writer specialising in natural history.
Pine marten 26 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE NOVEMBER 2020
Badger
Mink
© Adobe Stock
© Mark Davidson
© Terry Whitaker
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