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| STOAT |
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| ERMINE UPDATE: 9 June,2014 -- A new survey revealed that the stoat only exists in isolated pockets and therefore it is feared they are in danger of extinction. |
The stoat can be found in any cold or
subarctic region. It is actual a short-tailed weasel. Stoats and weasels are
very similar in their hunting habits.
The stoat was hunted down by farmers
and gamekeepers. 1950 when rabbits had an epidemic of myxomatosis, it was
feared the stoat's number would declined rapidly because rabbits are its main
food source. However, it did survive and thrive. The existence of the stoat is
appreciated for keeping down the mice, rats, and voles.
The stoat is a great hunter because
of its acute hearing and smell. They have good vision but mainly hunt by scent.
They run along and now and then stand up on their hindlegs to look or sniff
around.
Stoats mate in the summer. The young
ones are born in a den in March. The den is mostly in rock crevice or deserted
rabbit burrow.
The stoat in northern Scotland turns
completely white in the winter, except for its tail. The tail end stays always
black and the fur is called ermine. It is trapped for its valuable fur and was
used for crowns, capes and coats for queens and kings.
In an attempt to control the rabbit
population in New Zealand the stoat was introduced. It didn't work because the
stoat fed on wild life. Now it spread so much they take measures to eliminate
it. The stoat can swim 1.5 km across seawater and therefore spread as well to
islands.
Stoats are territorial and intolerant
toward intruders. One unusual habit has the stoat; it uses several dens in its
territory.
It lives alone except in the mating
season. It mates with several partners who are often forced. The gestation is
the longest for mammals (11 months) because of the delayed implantation. The
female rears its young by herself.
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