CARNIVORA 



75 



or nine years ago Mr Thomas Anderton, curator of the Portobello 

 Marine Fish Hatchery, shot two animals, which were too large for 

 stoats, being about eighteen inches long. They were not ferrets, for 

 they were brown coloured. Unfortunately he did not reaUse the 

 importance at the time of preserving the skin, their smell — for one 

 thing — being so oifensive, and so their specific character was not 

 determined. It may be, of course, that they were stoats of unusually 

 large size. 



Ferrets are fairly common throughout the country. I was formerly 

 of opinion that this species, which does not in Northern Europe 

 survive the winter unless carefully housed, could not stand the winter 

 in Otago, or indeed in any of the inland parts of New Zealand where 

 the winter is severe. I am informed, however, by trappers of ex- 

 perience, that they survive the Otago winter quite easily. Apparently 

 wet cold is their enemy; and where burrows are warm, they can 

 stand the dry cold quite easily. 



Stoats are common from end to end of both islands. Mr Yar- 

 borough of Kohu Kohu states that stoats and weasels do not seem 

 to be so numerous now (191 6) as they were some few years ago. At 

 that time a great number of these intrepid little animals appeared on 

 the eastern side of Hokianga estuary, and were occasionally observed 

 swimming across the river, which is about a mile wide. For the last 

 year or more they have neither been seen nor heard of. 



In the parts of New Zealand where the winter cold is severe, 

 stoats retain their habit of changing their coat in the late autumn. 

 According to Seebohm {Siberia in Asia, p. 41), the ermine in Scotland 

 regularly assumes its winter dress in cold winters, and in England 

 as far south as the Derbyshire moors. In New Zealand I have records 

 of white stoats in winter from Burke's Pass, the Mackenzie Country, 

 from the Taieri district, and from Lake Wakatipu, and these not as 

 single instances, but as a fairly common occurrence. Thus Drummond 

 (June, 1913) records the occurrence of a stoat from West Oxford. 

 It was 17 inches long, and pure white in colour, except for the tip 

 of the tail, which is jet black. The stuffed specimen is in the Canterbury 



Museum^. ^ ., „ 



Family Sciurid^. 



Chipmunk; Californian Grey Squirrel {Tamias striattcs) 



Brown Californian Squirrel (sp. ?) 



About 1906, Mr P. R. Sargood, of Dunedin, liberated two of the 



former (all that remained out of 12 shipped from San Francisco) 



1 The late Dr Gunther of the British Museum was not usually credited with 

 a great sense of humour, but when discussing with Dr Chilton of Christchurch the 

 introduction of stoats and weasels into New Zealand, he remarked: "Ach! why did 

 they not send out males only?" 



