It's a smelly old world

We humans have a poorly developed sense of smell so it is difficult for us to appreciate how important it is for most other mammals.  Mustelids, in particular, use scent to communicate with others of their kind, marking their territories and advertising their presence and breeding condition.  With the exception of badgers, female and male mustelids lead separate lives, usually meeting only for courtship and mating.  As they have large territories, are thinly spread across the landscape and are mainly active at night, scent-marking is a vital way for them to tell who is about and who is available.

Otter cubs are already leaving their own scent marks and sniffing others by the time they first appear on the cameras at three or four months of age.  The first video, from late 2024, shows two young otter cubs exploring their world, much more interested in the scents than the sights or sounds.

Otters use spraint (otter poo), urine or anal jelly to leave scent marks, choosing prominent features such as rocks and grass tussocks.  This is a new spot I have only just discovered.  The very first night after I set up a camera an otter turned up.

The next video shows a popular sprainting spot which is very regularly visited by the dog otter and (separately) by the mother and cubs - there is fresh spraint almost every time I look.  It was interesting to see it marked by a badger as well on this occasion - a behaviour known as "musking".

Badgers' family dynamics are rather different from otters' but they use latrines to mark their territories and they scent-mark each other to reinforce the clan smell and maintain family bonds. Here's an example with a mother repeatedly making sure her cub smells like the rest of the family, using sub caudal glands under her tail - a process called "allomarking".

Polecats are notoriously smelly to our sensibilities (another name is foulmart) but it obviously works for them.  The next video shows a polecat using urine, scat and body rubbing to advertise its presence and sniffing to see who else has been around.

The smaller mustelids are the more elusive they become.  Tracking weasels and stoats is very difficult so less is known about their territorial behaviour.  Field signs are usually very few but this weasel left a message inside my camera box.  It was also scent marking by rubbing its body along the entrance pipe as it went in and out, something that happens nearly every time.

OtterCam on Channel 5

Oh dear.  It's happened again.  On Channel 5 last night.  People like otters and television people like to show pictures of otters but why they also need a mumbling old man as well is beyond me. My main aim in making all my otter videos is to be able to share them so of course I said yes but it wasn't a comfortable experience.  After Winterwatch a year ago I was hoping it would be better - at least I didn't wear my dreadful old hat this time. 

The approach came from Lonesome Pine Productions, an independent TV production company based in Newcastle commissioned by Channel 5.  The team above (R-L) was Simon Glass, who was also cameraman for Winterwatch (but soundman as well this time), Alan Fairholm, producer, and Bunny, assistant producer.  Brian Rutter took the photos in this post.

Most of the time all I had to do was walk towards tha camera (I am quite good at that bit).

Simon also took a lot of drone footage, much of it general views of the reserve and some of me walking up and down (again).

The interview is much harder than it looks, mostly because I talk too much.  The editors need very short sentences so they can cut up the copy more easily whereas I tend to talk in paragraphs.  Added to that I am always thinking three sentences ahead so I don't lose my thread but then I do.  Fortunately very little of what we recorded was used in the end.  (If you think it was bad you should see what they left out!)

The programme was no 24 in a series of 40 on Channel 5 called Love Nature.  If you want to watch it you can see it on the Channel 5 website here.  I suppose if I got more practice at speaking in front of the camera I would get better at it but I hope that's my television career over.

The trail camera footage they used was some I have shown before in posts here and here.    To bring you up to date here is a brief clip of the family last Sunday.  You'll see the cub with the poorly leg is still limping but is able to keep up with the others.

Adders

The weather in the North East has been resolutely depressing so far this year, often wet and nearly always cloudy.  I guessed the snakes would be fed up with it as well so spotting sunshine in the forecast on Tuesday I headed north hoping they would be out basking.

This early in the season you would expect that most of the snakes would be males (they emerge from hibernation earlier) but the first one I saw was large and brown, so more likely to be a female.

The snakes hadn't yet shed their old skins so the males were looking rather dowdy.  Once they have moulted they will be gleaming black and silver but this is how they are now.

Here's another with a slightly greenish tinge.

I read that adders don't eat after emerging from hibernation until they have shed their skins but this one has a suspicious looking bulge which might suggest it had a quick snack.

While I watched it was tasting the air with its tongue.

The snakes spent an hour or two sunbathing, readjusting their coils every now and then, before slithering back into the undergrowth.

The site I visit is getting more overgrown each year.  The snakes don't seem to mind but it makes it harder to get a clear view for a photo.