PolecatCam

The polecat is one of the North East's rarest and most elusive mammals.  And after the excitement of the greater white-toothed shrew a few weeks ago here is another new mammal on my trail cameras.  Shy and mostly nocturnal in habit, the polecat is smaller than a domestic cat and very distinctive in appearance with dark fur, paler underfur on the body which shows through, and a bandit mask of dark fur around the eyes.

Polecats are members of the Mustelid (weasel) family which also includes weasels. stoats, pine martens, badgers, otters and American mink. They were on the verge of extinction in England by the end of the 19th century, mainly because of persecution by gamekeepers, but in recent decades they have slowly been making a comeback.  They are now found (but rarely seen) across much of central and southern England but in the north east they are mainly confined the western parts of County Durham and Northumberland south of the Tyne.

I am indebted to Jane and Gareth Hughes for letting me set trail cameras on their land in Allendale.  The first video shows a polecat exploring the camera box on the first night.

The polecat's scientific name (Mustela putorius) gives a clue to its notorious smelliness (another name is foul mart).  I suspect this one left a scent mark in the box because nothing else visited for eight days.  Then a vole came in but it was ten days before the first mouse - normally the box is a favourite with wood mice from the word go.  Another of the cameras did catch the polecat leaving a scent mark elsewhere.

The next videos show a polecat on the move, exploring by scent in the dark.

The last of my videos shows the polecat having a good scratch.

Polecats hunt and eat rabbits but will also take rats, other small mammals, birds and amphibians.  They prefer rural lowland areas and will often make a den in a rabbit burrow in summer, sometimes moving into farm buildings in winter.  They mate in late winter and the kits are born in late spring and raised solely by their mother.

I am grateful to Maureen and Alistair Stevens who have kindly allowed me to share their delightful trail camera recording of a family of young polecats in their barn in Hexhamshire in daylight.  This video has no sound.

The cameras in Allendale are still in position so I hope to have more pictures of this fascinating and elusive animal to share soon.