Animals perceive the world very differently from the way we do. They have better vision, better hearing and a much more highly developed sense of smell. Mustelids in particular live in a world of scent, using it to advertise their presence and to see who else is about. The first video, from earlier this week, shows an otter sniffing almost every plank on the bridge to work out who has been there before.
Next a less welcome mustelid. A male mink scent-marking by body-rubbing, then a female sniffing to pick up scents, and finally the female doing a bit of body rubbing of her own.
A stoat has been a regular on some of the cameras. It was also sniffing its way around when it came across some mink scat.
Another video from earlier this week: a male weasel went through the camera box at high speed and on his return I am sure he was scent-marking in the tunnel. He was also making a weasel sound I haven't heard before. A couple of hours later a female weasel came sniffing through the box and picked up his scent.
Finally, to complete the local mustelid set, a couple of badger videos, although not recent. First a badger sniffing its way around and seeming to take a particular interest in my scent on the camera.
And a mother scent-marking one of her cubs to make sure it smells like the rest of the family. The cub wasn't impressed.
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