MAMMALS 



when he was a boy. The Rev. E. N. 

 Bloomficid has information of another said 

 to have been seen at Ecclesbourne near 

 Hastings about sixteen years ago. There 

 is h'ttle doubt that the polecat has been 

 extinct for many years in Sussex, most of 

 those now figuring in the naturalist's shop 

 being escaped tame ones. 



ig. Stoat. Putorius ermineus, Linn. 

 BeW—Musu/a ermwea. 

 Common and generally distributed. Ex- 

 amples in the perfect winter dress are rarely 

 met with, there being almost always some of 

 the ordinary colour remaining about the head ; 

 but every year individuals are trapped which 

 have partially assumed the winter pelage. One 

 day whilst sitting under a tree in Denne Park, 

 Horsham, Mr. Millais observed a large stoat 

 emerge from a small rabbit warren close at 

 hand. There were about fifty rabbits round 

 about and none of these betrayed the slightest 

 alarm at the presence of the stoat. After 

 running about for a few minutes the stoat 

 made a rush at a young rabbit and knocked it 

 over as if in play, and then commenced maul- 

 ing it about the neck and pretending to worry 

 it. The rabbit meanwhile crouched down 

 and evidently was not very frightened, as it 

 commenced feeding again as soon as its per- 

 secutor left it. The stoat then went up to 

 two other rabbits and repeated the same per- 

 formance, every movement of which could be 

 distinctly seen through a powerful telescope. 

 It was then apparently satisfied, and retired 

 to one of the holes, into which it presently 

 disappeared. There is not the least doubt 

 that this cunning fellow was making his 

 home amongst the rabbits on whose young 

 he lived, and that this daily play was prac- 

 tised so as to accustom his nervous neigh- 

 bours to the presence of the murderer. 



20. Weasel. Putoriui nivalis, Linn. 

 Bell — Mustela vulgaris. 

 Common and generally distributed. On 

 more than one occasion individuals have been 

 caught on the sea-front at St. Leonards. It 

 is a pity that gamekeepers are so relentless in 

 their persecution of this graceful little animal. 

 The damage it does to game is more than 

 outweighed by its services in keeping down 

 the numbers of voles and rats which un- 

 questionably constitute its chief prey. The 

 tenacity with which the weasel will stick to 

 its prey is remarkable. Recently when shoot- 

 ing with Mr. Fletcher at Dale Park, Arundel, 

 we saw a weasel chase and seize a half-grown 

 rat on the side of a steep down. The pur- 

 suer had not a very good hold, so that the 



victim could make some resistance, and both 

 came rolling down the hill, a distance of 

 nearly a hundred yards, and landed almost 

 at our feet without separating. 



21. Badger. Meles meles, Linn. 



Bell — Meles taxus. 



The badger is by no means uncommon in 

 east Sussex, and at present there is little danger 

 of any serious diminution, as in many parts 

 the animal is protected. There are at the 

 present time colonies of greater or less extent 

 at the following places, viz. Ashburnham, 

 Battle, Beauport, Catsfield, Crowhurst Park, 

 Fairlight, Guestling (Broomham Park), Hol- 

 lington, Pett, Sedlcscombe, Udimore, West- 

 field, Winchelsea (Wickham Cliff). 



Sir Archibald Lamb, Bart., of Beauport 

 writes that some time since a terrier belong- 

 ing to Colonel Lamb went to ground after 

 the badgers and had to be dug out. During 

 the operation a litter of recently-born badgers 

 was disturbed, and Colonel Lamb is certain 

 that there were six, if not seven, in the litter. 

 In 1893 — a great wasp year — the badgers at 

 Beauport devoured between thirty and forty 

 wasp nests during two ensuing nights. Mr. 

 George Bristow, jun., to whom we are in- 

 debted for many particulars of Sussex mam- 

 mals, has weighed several badgers which have 

 scaled over 30 lb. 



In west Sussex the badger continues to 

 hold its own in nearly all the heavily wooded 

 districts, and we know of one protected spot 

 within three miles of Brighton where they 

 are always to be found. In a wood with 

 which we are acquainted foxes and badgers 

 have made earths together, and have lived 

 for some years in comparative harmony. 

 Occasionally however there are squabbles, and 

 when these occur the latter invariably get the 

 best of it, young foxes having been found 

 dead at the mouth of the badger hole. 



22. Otter. Lutra Intra, Linn. 



Bell — Lutra vulgaris. 

 Otters have been met with in most of the 

 larger streams of the eastern part of the 

 county. Specimens have been killed at Rye, 

 Pett, Brede, Ninfield, Sedlescombe, Ashburn- 

 ham and Pevensey. In the west there are 

 always a few resident on the Adur and the 

 Arun, whilst a season seldom passes without 

 individuals being seen or their tracks noted on 

 the lakes in St. Leonards Forest. The ponds 

 at Knepp Castle and Burton Park are other 

 favourite places, and in 1891 a pair of otters 

 stayed the whole season at Warnham Pond 

 and successfully reared a litter there. 



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