THE STOAT 



In character the Stoat is the embodiment of agiHty and strength, 

 and will often run down and kill animals as large as a hare, while 

 rabbits and smaller mammals, game-birds and fowls, are also preyed on. 

 It seems strange that such swift-footed creatures as the hare and rabbit 

 should be unable to escape the attack of the Stoat, who kills by biting 

 through the arteries of the neck, yet when tracked by their enemy they 

 soon lose their nerve and lying down are easily mastered. Their des- 

 pairing cries at such times are pitiful to hear. 



What is still more strange is the courage sometimes displayed by a 

 doe rabbit when her young are molested, when she will boldly charge 

 and put to flight the aggressor. Mr. Millais gives an instance of this, 

 and I have myself witnessed a somewhat similar incident on the moors 

 near Pitlochry, when I observed a rabbit persistently chasing a Stoat, 

 which kept dodging among the heather in his efix)rts to escape. 



The Stoat is naturally frolicsome, skipping about and playing for his 

 own amusement, though he also makes use of these playful gambols to 

 get within reach of some unsuspecting animal, whose sense of danger is 

 lulled by his curious antics. 



The Stoat is a bold and strong swimmer, and is known to be able 

 to catch eels. 



By watching his tracks in snow, sometimes in the open, or winding 

 about hedgerows in and out of the rabbit holes, one can gain some 

 notion of the Stoat's method of hunting and the long distances he will 

 travel in pursuit of his quarry. 



The young, usually about five or more in number, are born in a nest 

 made in some cavity in a stone wall or bank, within a hollow tree, or 

 sometimes in a deserted bird's nest. 



In the background of Plate 21 is shown a figure of the Irish 

 Stoat, the Tutor ius hibernicus of Mr. Oldfield Thomas and Major 



75 



