A popular north climbing crag has been closed after furry creatures decided it made an ideal home.
Two routes up Moy Rock in Ross-shire have been closed because a female pine marten is thought to have built a den at the top.
It is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly kill or injure a wild pine marten, or to damage or obstruct access to a nest or den.
The crag is near Contin on the A835 Tore-Ullapool road north of Inverness and has several graded climbing routes which makes it popular with climbers.
Yesterday the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) took the unusual step of closing the Ephemeral Artery and Venus Return routes until further notice to prevent disturbing the martens.
The female pine marten has built itself a den around 23ft from the top of the climbs and is likely to be expecting young.
The creatures are very sensitive to disturbance when nesting – and the mother can remove its young or even eat them if it feels threatened. An MCofS spokesman said: “The pine marten has been sighted at the top of one of the climbs at Moy Rock.
“It has a den close to the top of one of the climbs and, as pine martens are protected from disturbance, climbers are asked to avoid these two routes until further notice.”
Other routes on the rock which remain open include Scooby Doo, The Dark Side and The Ticks Ate All The Midgies.
The MCofS have previously issued advice for climbers to avoid some routes because of nesting birds such as ravens, but never for pine martens.
The mammals are commonly found in native woodlands across the north and are also occasionally found in conifer plantations or rocky hillsides.
They make their nests among rocks or in hollow trees and can have up to five young, which are usually born in April.
Pine martens were once found all over Britain before their numbers fell because of persecution in the 19th century.
By the 20th century they were only found in remote forests and rocky moorland in north-west Scotland.
They were given full legal protection in 1988 and Scottish Natural Heritage say numbers have recovered since.