A pine marten has been spotted in southern England for the first time in more than 50 years . It was caught on film scuttling in the undergrowth by a student using a night vision camera near his home in Bude , Cornwall . Jack Merritt , 18 , sent footage of the creature to experts , who identified it as a young female . ' I filmed it by chance and knew I had captured something different , ' Jack said . ' I had no idea of its significance to start with though . Unusual sight : A pine martin , like the one pictured , was spotted in southern England for the first time in half a century . ' I spoke to a few friends who had some suggestions but decided to send it to someone who may have a better idea of what it was all about . 'It is quite a shock and I do n't really know what to make of it to be honest . 'You do n't really expect to have something like this happen but it is fascinating and I am so glad I was out filming at the time . ' The teenager sent the footage to ecologist Derek Gow - a specialist in the reintroduction of indigenous species . Mr Gow said : 'The footage taken by Jack is simply amazing . To the best of anyone 's knowledge pine martens were believed to be extinct in Southern England after centuries of ruthless persecution by furriers and gamekeepers . 'It 's really great to see the see the footage he obtained of what would appear to be a young female . Exciting spot : A student in Cornwall captured a pine marten on camera , exciting wildlife experts who say there have been no sightings in southern England for 50 years . 'Hopefully this sighting could result in further reintroductions of this delightful creature into other areas of suitable habitat in the South West . ' The pine marten is a relative of the weasel and used to be Britain 's second most common carnivore . It was hunted for its fur and almost wiped out in the 1800s . The size of a cat but slender with brown fur , a bushy tail and a creamy yellow throat , it is nocturnal . In the UK , it is common only in the Scottish Highlands , with most sightings in England and Wales in rugged areas such as the Lake District and Snowdonia .
Animal was once Britain 's first most common carnivore . Relative of the weasel was hunted for fur and nearly wiped out in the 1800s . Experts confirmed it was species more common to Scottish Highlands .