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Kirsty Nutt

Welcome to the sixth weekly stoat snippet!

These snippets will be a short update on progress with both the Orkney Native Wildlife Project and the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project, as well as addressing any concerns that folk have raised with SNH and RSPB Scotland.

 

Quick update

Not much new has happened in the last week on the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project or the potential incursion responses, so we don’t have much to update you on.

However, as this is the time of year when stoats will be dispersing, we wanted to make a plea for people to keep sending in sightings and records.

For those of you that are less familiar with stoats, here are some top facts and clues on how to spot them.

 

Stoat facts

  • Stoats are part of the same family as otters, weasels, badgers etc

  • They have a long and thin body and are similar in size to a rat (approximately 20-30 cm long, with males slightly bigger than females). However, unlike rats they have a bounding rather than a scurrying gait.

   

  • They are reddish brown with cream belly.

  • They sometimes turn white (ermine) in winter but always have black tip to tail. 

               

  • Stoats are native to the Scottish mainland but not Orkney where they were recorded for the first time in 2010.

  • They are accomplished predators - typically feed on small mammals (rodents and rabbits) birds and eggs – they can take prey that is much larger than themselves.

  • Females are often mated while still in the nest, whereas male cannot breed until they are older. Because of a reproductive strategy called delayed implantation, most females are always pregnant.

 

Answering your concerns…

Remember, if you have any comments or concerns please contact north@snh.gov.uk or orkney@rspb.org.uk. 

And don't forget to keep reporting any sightings of stoats, whether on the mainland or outer isles, as soon as possible, to SNH by calling 01856 886163, by emailing north@snh.gov.uk or through the ‘Stoats in Orkney’ Facebook page.