Stoatily different and weasily distinguishable (sorry!)
Searching
for stoats and wondering about weasels - The fourth article from the Vincent
Wildlife Trust, our featured charity this year.
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| Stoat (image: Frank Greenaway) |
When was the last time you saw a stoat or a weasel? Maybe a
fleeting glimpse of one dashing across the road? Or if you’re very lucky, a
view of a stoat carrying a rabbit along a field edge?
Stoats and weasels are part of the mustelid, or weasel,
family. They occur all across Britain but are among our hardest mammal species
to study. Monitoring them has proved challenging as they do not leave easily
visible field signs, are generally elusive and rarely seen and, like many
mammal species, are probably under-recorded.