An elusive species that was near extinction is making a comeback, exciting conservationists in the Pacific Northwest.
Popular Science reported that coastal martens, a carnivorous mammal endemic to California and western Oregon, are slowly recovering.
A rare species, coastal martens were nearly hunted to extinction during the 20th century due to their highly sought-after fur. Before they were overhunted, coastal martens had a much larger geographic range and used to span across northern California, southern Oregon, and Washington state.
Habitat loss also contributed to their decrease in population. As woodland mammals, coastal martens live in dense forests that have been threatened by logging.
However, the small mammals are "rebounding" in California, according to Popular Science. Thanks to a research project documenting the coastal marten population in northern California, conservationists have a better understanding of the species' numbers and main geographic location. A team of researchers from Oregon State University tracked coastal martens for three months, using remote cameras and hair snares to gauge population numbers.
The area the researchers studied is the ancestral lands of the Yurok and Karuk Tribes. Popular Science noted that the Yurok Tribe owns one-third of the study area, a forest that was once owned by commercial logging but is now managed by the Yurok Tribe for cultural and environmental preservation.
"Coastal martens like forests with old-growth characteristics and those types of forests are being threatened by the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe wildfire, and certain forest management practices," study co-author and OSU wildlife ecologist Sean Matthews said in a statement.
Matthews also described coastal martens as "among the most adorable animals that call our Pacific Northwest forests home."
While the new findings shed light on the current state of the coastal marten population, scientists emphasized the need to continue to protect and learn more about the species.
"Despite continued conservation concerns over the last 30 years, we have a lot to learn about marten distribution and demography and how forest conditions influence their distribution and density," Erika Anderson, the study's lead author and OSU faculty research assistant, said in a statement.
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Similar efforts to recover valuable animal populations have also proved successful. In Dunkard Creek, along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border, fatmucket mussels are coming back after dedicated revival work. Elsewhere, in Brazil, golden lion tamarins are thriving once again after the creation of wildlife corridors.
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