Stoats

[Goose]

Cant wash your face in a buffalo!
Needs a brummy accent!

 

[JonnyP]

come on then.. someone has to say it.. how do you tell the difference between a Stoat and a Weasel...?

A stoat is slightly larger than a weasel and has a dark tip on the tail.............Jon

 

[tomtom]

A stoat is slightly larger than a weasel and has a dark tip on the tail.............Jon

cheers John

 

[pierre girard]

That's just anthropocentric emotion. The North American mink is a successful, adaptable predator. They are not evil or "nasty": just doing what they're wired to do. They are not welcome in the wild here in Britain because they are alien intruders and can have an impact on our ecology, in some instances a significant one. But "wiping out our native species" is not an accurate assessment. Of course, a local situation can be dramatically affected if hundreds of mink are suddenly 'liberated' from a commercial fur farm by so-called animal rights activists.

But mink are certainly bold. Earlier in this thread I mentioned seeing an otter and an ermine on a stretch of the Aberdeenshire Dee. Another February, on that same stretch of river, I was fishing down a long broad pool with spinning tackle (no longer allowed on the Dee). I suddenly noticed a mink sitting on the bank about 20 yards downstream of me. It seemed very interested in what I was doing and looked every time my Devon minnow dropped into the river. As I got closer to the animal, I let my lure swing round right in towards the bank. It was very cold that February and an ice ledge had formed right along that stretch that extended out about a yard into the river. I wound the lure up to the surface and, with a quick lift of the rod tip, managed to flip the Devon out of the stream onto this ice ledge, close to the mink. The animal leapt for the minnow and I had to wind in like crazy to prevent it catching the lure as it came skittering along the ice ledge towards me. The mink followed the Devon practically to my feet and only sheered off when I lifted the rod and swung the minnow clear away. The animal gave me a long hard stare from barely 10 feet away, uttered a little angry chitter, and ran off. I'm sure I could easily have foul-hooked it with the big treble hook had I let it catch up with the lure. I'm glad I wasn't that stupid!

Mine was not a unique experience. I've read of other occasions where anglers have had a stand-off with brazen mink trying to steal bait, or fish that have been caught and carelessly left lying on the bank.

Burnt Ash

Had the same problem with a marten last year while ice fishing. It kept going after our bait sack. Throw firewood at him - he'd retreat and scold us. Finally got so irritated I placed a few shots right next to his face. That kept him off for about 20 minutes - then he was back.

For my money, weasels (ermine) are the nastiest of the lot. When we had chickens they were the most vicious - and hardest to eradicate.

PG

 

[BorderReiver]

Cant wash your face in a buffalo!
Needs a brummy accent!

I don't wish to know that,kindly leave the podium.

 

[Alchemist]

I have to say that I am really jealous. I have never seen a stoat who wasnt a TV star. I did see a fox a few months back on a fairly well beaten track during daylight.
I dont know if seeing him was that special but it was for me. The great thing was that we clocked each other at the same time. We had a little stare and he looked at me as if to say 'hello big boy, what are you up to'.
He then slunk off very adeptly. I tried to see where he went but I have no idea about tracking. Good bye Mr Fox.

 

[Tantalus]

mink, i dunno if i have said this elsewhere but the cleaner rivers are helping otters to make a gradual comeback, this seems to have a knock on effect on wild mink who are effectively starved out by the competition, i havent seen much of otters shy creatures that they are but i reckon an otter would easily tackle a mink if it came across one

i dont think otters alone will ever remove mink from our shores but it is nice to know they are subject to a little natural control

now back to fussochs, stoats and weasels. general lower rates of pesticide use and cleaning up of our act has led to a rise in all sorts of little predators including feathered ones

long may it continue

one of my favourite memories is coming across a stoat who was hypnotising a rabbit, alas i was too late (and too clumsy) to watch the scene unfold and my stumblings scared the rabbit off, i can still hear the angry chitterings and scolding of the stoat 20 years on

i remember at the time being a little afraid the dog was going to have a closer inspection , a cornered stoat, tiny though they are, is capable of being a serious nuisance to a dog who is too dumb to realise just what he is dealing with

true to form he chased the rabbit much to my relief

Tant

 

[JonnyP]

Went out this morning and could not believe my luck, a weasel running around, it didn't have any time to stop for a photo and this was about my best one. It has made my week seeing it. It ran straight past my boy and me a few times and then disappeared...................Jon

 

[tomtom]

wow what a fantastic picture, thanks for showing us your very lucky to have an encounter like that

 

[swyn]

One of my best Weasel experiences was while sitting at my kitchen window on a quiet early spring afternoon watching a weasel hunt the hedgerow and mouseholes. One particularly good mousehole was in the middle of the grass ( I can't call it a lawn, it isn't good enough) and the other end was about fifteen feet away. Mr weasel dives down the first hole, ten seconds pass and Mr & Mrs mouse come scurrying out at the opposite hole,suitcases and all, ten seconds later Mr weasel pops up and gives chase. They all dissappear behind the shed and I never saw the final outcome.
My only stoat experience was while walking quietly up a country lane in late spring early summer as the beech leaves were out.
Ahead of me and approaching with something in it's mouth was a stoat. I can't say who was the more surprised. The stoat goes left into the undergrowth for a while and pops out behind me by an old tree stump. There is then the funniest furious chattering noises coming from inside the stump. I turn and go and investigate and discover what I think is a nest (?) in the hollow stump and by the noise is filled by a thousand stoats! I watched for quite a time after but nothing came out. I still go by every now and again but have never since seen any activity.
I will say that as part of GreySquirrel control we set spring traps for the little blighters. These are designed to catch squirrels and are built into wooden tunnels to stop other creatures from being caught, such as pheasants inquisitive dogs et al. Sadly the only other thing that has been trapped in these have been weasels and only on two occasions. Both times I have been devastated as I hold the pretty thing in my hand. Please don't berate me as this and other control methods are starting to curb the huge local population and lessen the terrible damage that squirrels do to our young trees. Let alone the almost total eradication of our native red. Not seen in The Chilterns probably for 50 years. Swyn.
:twak:

 

[BorderReiver]

Went out this morning and could not believe my luck, a weasel running around, it didn't have any time to stop for a photo and this was about my best one. It has made my week seeing it. It ran straight past my boy and me a few times and then disappeared...................Jon

You lucky sod.

Thanks for the picture.

 

[BorderReiver]

I will say that as part of GreySquirrel control we set spring traps for the little blighters. These are designed to catch squirrels and are built into wooden tunnels to stop other creatures from being caught, such as pheasants inquisitive dogs et al. Sadly the only other thing that has been trapped in these have been weasels and only on two occasions. Both times I have been devastated as I hold the pretty thing in my hand. Please don't berate me as this and other control methods are starting to curb the huge local population and lessen the terrible damage that squirrels do to our young trees. Let alone the almost total eradication of our native red. Not seen in The Chilterns probably for 50 years. Swyn.
:twak:

Any chance of using non lethal traps,with an airgun pellet in the head for the baddies?

 

[swyn]

Hello Border river, Thanks for the comment. Live traps are fine in a garden but they are subject to all sorts of issues here with vandalism being the main. As I said they are only a part of the control methods and I am happy to say they are not used as often as they were as we are on top of the squirrel population at present. I have only caught two weasels in fifteen years of trapping! I find that if I am able to point out squirrel damage to people who are undecided about control, there is a surprising transformation in their facial expression and attitude.(it is very difficult to talk to a member of the public when they are angry)! They understand why. I would love to show more people as the damage is now so widespread that there are many people (and I am one) who believe that our grandchildren will not be able to see the trees that we see today as the young native stock is so decimated by squirrels before it even reaches 40 years of age. I am talking about in the Chilterns, NOT elsewhere in the country.
I am getting off the subject of mustelids and I don't want to dominate this interesting thread with squirrel talk. Sorry about that from Swyn.

 

[Spacemonkey]

So what is it that I saw in the road from Swindon to Oxford last Friday then? It was fresh roadkill, not disfigured in any way and on the central white lines. It was blackish all over, looked like a stoat/weasel/mink type thing but had white eye surrounds, almost like a negative of a raccoon. Any ideas???

Also I see on the same road last week 3 dead badgers appear on the roadside at more or less equal distances on the same side on the same morning. No obvious RTA trauma at all and slightly bloated. Believe me, if they had been killed on the road that day they would not have bloated for about a week in this weather, if at all. I take it someone is killing them and dumping the bodies on the kerbside to look like roadkill. Grr....

 

[BorderReiver]

So what is it that I saw in the road from Swindon to Oxford last Friday then? It was fresh roadkill, not disfigured in any way and on the central white lines. It was blackish all over, looked like a stoat/weasel/mink type thing but had white eye surrounds, almost like a negative of a raccoon. Any ideas???

Also I see on the same road last week 3 dead badgers appear on the roadside at more or less equal distances on the same side on the same morning. No obvious RTA trauma at all and slightly bloated. Believe me, if they had been killed on the road that day they would not have bloated for about a week in this weather, if at all. I take it someone is killing them and dumping the bodies on the kerbside to look like roadkill. Grr....

Ferret?

Don't like the sound of the "roadkill".Might be worth bagging 'em up and taking to a local wildlife group for checking.

 

[Laurence Dell]

So what is it that I saw in the road from Swindon to Oxford last Friday then? It was fresh roadkill, not disfigured in any way and on the central white lines. It was blackish all over, looked like a stoat/weasel/mink type thing but had white eye surrounds, almost like a negative of a raccoon. Any ideas???

It sounds like a Polecat Ferret but could be a true Polecat as they are starting to make a comeback and spread out from their stronghold in Wales.

If you contact your local Mammal group they would be interested to hear of any such sightings for their records and should be able to give more information about such things.

 

[Spacemonkey]

The badgers have dissapeared over the weekend, and the weaselly thing has been well and truly squished now.

Mammal group? Where/what is that then?

 

[swyn]

I saw a Stoat today rushing across the lane I was travelling on. This was just on the outskirts of a hamlet near Chinnor in Oxfordshire. It had a Rat in it's grasp that was almost as big as the stoat itself.

 

[cicelythepotter]

they are great to watch, ive seen one in the peaks on a climbing trip. ive also got a lovely pelt from one that we found on the road