The real battle of the Highlands: capercaillie versus pine marten

A real-life Wind in the Willows war has broken out. Except this time, the war isn’t between the Weasels and Badger (he’s busy fighting another battle), and the story has relocated from a Berkshire riverbank to the Scottish Highlands.

This battle is between the pine marten – a weasel-type animal – and the capercaillie, a turkey-sized bird in the grouse family. So what, exactly, is the problem? 

Well, for starters, both species are protected and endangered in the UK, but pine martens are currently doing pretty well in terms of numbers. They might have been almost extinct at the beginning of the 20^th century, but have now made a comeback – which is more than can be said for the capercaillie.

There are estimated to be around 3,500 pine martens in Scotland, while there are at most 1,200 capercaillie, which are restricted to the Caledonian pine forest. It’s an understatement to say that the two species don’t get on – it’s well known in the Highlands that in areas with lots of pine marten, capercaillie are few and far between.