Scottish Water provides new den for pine marten that took a shine to one of their buildings

A pine marten that created a den in one of Scottish Water’s operational buildings in the Highlands has been given a new home.

The company has provided a new den for the furry visitor after it took a shine to one of its buildings near Achiltibuie.

Staff at the building first realised there was a pine marten around after discovering poo at their site.

Following the discovery, Scottish Water’s Specialist Services team were called in to investigate and set up a trail camera which caught the animal going in and out of the building via a duct in the wall.

Pine martens are a legally protected species in Scotland since 1988. Supplied

Environment delivery senior advisor James Homer said that the team monitored the site for a while before applying for a license through NatureScot which gave them time to close up the hole and put up a compensatory den box for the pine marten.

“They are very inquisitive creatures and we do occasionally find that they’ve gone into one of our buildings to make their den.

“We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and will always work to ensure that local wildlife and their habitats are protected during projects or our day-to-day operations,” he added.

Pine martens are a legally protected species in Scotland since 1988 after their numbers dropped dramatically following their persecution in the 19th century, so a license is required to exclude them from a den site as well as the provision of an alternative den option.

This isn’t the first den the company has set up with previous den boxes being visited Mr Homer said.

“They usually have prey remains in there like pheasant wings and bits of hair and that kind of stuff, so you can tell they’ve been used.

“Pine martens were heavily persecuted in the 19th century and they were pushed to the north west corner of Scotland but they are starting to spread further south again and we are seeing them on an increasingly regular basis,” he added.

In addition to their wee visitor in Achiltibuie, the team also monitored a pine marten who regularly popped into a site in Newtonmore where she went on to have three kits.