BRITISH MAMMALS 



its smaller relative, it is an inveterate hunter, and although 

 it is frequently trapped at night, there is Httle doubt it 

 is abroad by day, as we often observe it during our 

 rambles in the country. It is a lithe little beast, ferocious 

 when cornered, but it has the unfailing habit of entering 

 enclosed box-traps set in a hedge-gap or gateway by 

 game-keepers, and is thus easily captured. It is a 

 distressing sight to find a Stoat firmly secured by the 



Young ;5roat' 



^'3 7- 



cruel teeth of a spring trap, and more than one animal 



we have seen made prisoner in this way has managed to 



escape minus one of its Hmbs. Rambling along a 



Hertfordshire lane a few Summers ago, we found a 



Stoat that had recently been run over by a motor. The 



poor beast had evidently been run down unawares, and 



an examination revealed that, some time previous, it 



had been caught in a trap, as its left fore-foot was 



amputated, and the wound had healed, so that the owner 



was able to hobble about on the stump remaining. It 



was sad to think that such a plucky creature eventually 

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