“Positive indications” for numbers of native red squirrels and pine martens in Ireland

24 February 2026

^{A pine marten spotted at Wild Nephin National Park, Co. Mayo}

A study that uses remote cameras to photograph wildlife has reported numerous sightings of native red squirrels and pine martens in Ireland.

This could mean that the conservation status might be improving for both these species.

Photos of the animals were captured by Snapshot Europe, a wildlife camera-trap exercise carried out by researchers across the continent. 

Dr Adam Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, leads a number of camera-trap projects across Ireland that are part of Snapshot Europe.

The sites include Wild Nephin National Park in Co. Mayo, Slieve Bloom in the midlands, Moore Hall, Co. Mayo; Glengarriff in Co. Cork, Connemara National Park in Co. Galway; Killarney National Park, Uragh Wood Nature Reserve in Co. Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula and Wicklow.

^{A red squirrel spotted in Co. Wicklow}

Dr Smith noted “positive indications” for both the red squirrel and the pine marten.

“The pine marten is a small and elusive animal, so it’s quite difficult to monitor and it’s very difficult to see them without using tools like camera traps. We see quite a few of them, which means their conservation status might be improving,” he explained.

“Over the last couple of decades, they’ve had more protection and expanded their range distribution, and with that comes an expanded range and distribution of red squirrels. Those two species evolve together, and they live together. It’s a predator-prey relationship.

“The red squirrels appear on a lot of our camera traps. For a long time, they were in competition with invasive grey squirrels. The grey squirrels have seemed to reduce their range, at least in our camera trap sites.”

The images captured as part of the project are uploaded to a Europe-wide wildlife monitoring dataset to help guide important decisions around conservation.

Snapshot Europe’s camera traps also recently captured images of the elusive otter for the first time in Co. Wicklow after a five-year wait.

By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie