Local sightings

Polecat – Mustela putorius

Having seen (and smelt) the road-kill specimen in close-up, I am more convinced that a creature that I have had brief glimpses of near my home is also a Polecat.

Initially I had 2 images on a trail camera on 13 May 2021. The following day I visited the site and had 2 sightings. These were mainly of the body and tail of the animal and I was unable to get a clear view of its face. The fur was various shades of brown and orange (not the bright chestnut of a stoat). Its posture and movement was more like that of an otter than a stoat. I have since obtained a few more photos, and a short video clip, from the trail camera but am still trying to get a definitive shot, especially of its face. Also, I have been aware of an occasional overpowering scent in the area. I was fairly sure it wasn’t that of a fox but couldn’t identify it further; now I think it was  the same odour as that accompanying the road-kill specimen.

Clicking on any photo will show a larger version of the same image.

13 May 2021 at 18:28	13 May 2021 at 18:33
14 May 2021 at 17:54	14 May 2021 at 18:48
14 May 2021 at 19:48	15 May 2021 at 01:15

Video clip
The animal is only visible in the first few frames so, when viewing it, it is more clearly seen if the clip is set on a loop to replay automatically. A single frame taken from the video clip is shown on the left.

All of the above were obtained during May 2021.

---

June 2021. More sightings from the trail camera.

On 12 Jun 2021, it was possible to make size comparisons against a squirrel. The squirrel has a favourite place just in front of the camera where it rolls around. The polecat was caught on camera in the same spot.

It seems quite a bit larger than the squirrel.