MOTHER STOAT 175 



them out, and with diligent care and labour remove 

 their bodies to a distant resting-place, where she 

 stayed by them for days, though she appeared no 

 longer to bring them their former abundant supplies 

 of food. When a stoat, the mother of a family, is 

 killed, her young do not fail to come to her but in 

 this case there is no disinterested love. The apparent 

 affection springs chiefly from desire of food. No 

 food forthcoming, the young stoats quickly begin 

 to devour their unfortunate mother. The game- 

 keeper knows that having once caught a mother 

 stoat, he will have little difficulty in catching her 

 family also ; but having captured the family, it is 

 by no means easy to secure the mother. 



When June comes, litters of young stoats, each one 

 as big as the mother, are strong enough to travel 

 about, but for many weeks they remain together, 

 and depend for food on what their mother catches. 

 Like fox cubs, they spend their days eating, sleeping, 

 and playing. Without the aid of a trained dog the 

 keeper is unlikely to discover the lodging of a litter 

 unless he chances to see the mother going to her 

 young. He may see her entering a burrow, a bavin- 

 pile, a pile of hurdle-rods, or of hurdles, or he may 

 chance to see the young stoats out at play. Should 

 he come upon their playground his sharp eyes in- 

 stantly note the runs and the signs of rollings in the 

 herbage the playground is as the playground of fox 

 cubs in miniature. The comings and goings of a 

 mother stoat are cunning and silent. Once we found a 



