BBC Springwatch viewers were left shocked as Chris Packham was seen picking up and sniffing pine marten faeces with his bare hands during the show's latest episode

Springwatch made its return to the BBC on Wednesday (June 3), with Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan presenting the programme, offering viewers fascinating insights into seasonal wildlife from Northern Ireland.

During the episode, the presenting duo were left amazed by a remarkable discovery, revealing that the typically nocturnal pine martens had been observed by crew members during daylight hours.

Springwatch's Chris then confessed: "I couldn't resist going out and seeing if I could meet my own pine marten in broad daylight."

The show then switched to footage of the 65-year-old strolling along a woodland path, observing: "Some faeces here."

Chris continued: "There's only one way to find out," before getting down on the ground to smell the animal droppings, though he appeared unimpressed, commenting: "Not much of a scent on that."

The wildlife presenter then discovered another sample, which he collected and inspected with his bare hands. This left audiences stunned as they flocked to social media with their responses, reports the Express.

On X/Twitter, one viewer protested: "Oh for Pete's sake, wear gloves when picking up poo! #springwatch." While a second agreed: "That was disgusting #chrispackam could've at least wore gloves." (sic)

"Chris, you're welcome to come and pick up all the dog faeces around my way lol," one fan quipped.

Meanwhile another viewer jested: "Never accept a sandwich made by #chrispackham #springwatch."

Upon stumbling across a separate mound of droppings, Chris declared: "This looks fresher," before scooping three pieces into his hand, remarking: "Unmistakably pine marten," and leaning in for another sniff

Following his lengthy inhale, he went on: "I mean, there's no way of really describing in smell between that and something like a badger, you've really got to get your nose in there. There aren't enough adjectives in our vocabulary to describe that difference, but this is pine martens."

Scrutinising the droppings closely, Chris observed: "It's filled of these seeds which are unusual," before plucking a berry from a nearby branch and noting: "I've spotted the source of what it's eating.

"These are ivy berries," and as he pressed it between his fingers, a seed matching those found within the pine marten's excrement emerged.

"Inside the ivy berry, there you can see those are the little stones that are present in the pine martens' poo.

"I'm going to put this poo back where I found it because it's not only poo, it's also a system of communication because that scent is a particular perfume, which is identifying this particular pine marten, and it's put it there to communicate with others."

Springwatch is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.