David Element's Wildlife Web Page Mammals 20

David Element

Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images

__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mammals 20 – Stoats

STOAT Mustela erminea stabilis

An impromptu (and rather lucky) image of a curious young Stoat Mustela erminea stabilis watching the photographer. It is difficult to judge whether this highly fortified position was selected by accident or on purpose! This portrait was taken some years ago, at a time when sightings were more frequent. These delightfully animated creatures seem to be declining and sightings are now something of a rarity in the part of Surrey in which this photograph was taken. There is no shortage of prey species, particularly Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus, so the cause of this apparent decline may be due to something more insidious, perhaps as a consequence of damaging chemicals (?pesticides) entering the food chain. It is not known whether this drop in population is being mirrored elsewhere in the UK, but there is always a concern when top predators show a sustained reduction in numbers as this reflects upon the poor health of the remainder of the food chain.