beast, but owing to the onslaughts of the gamekeeper and the high prices
paid for a skin, it is now, so far as southern and midland England is
concerned, extinct. In the wilder parts of the Peak district, the North
of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, however, it still exists,
though in small and ever decreasing numbers in most places. In the Lake
District it was quite recently reported to be fairly common even. The
name _Pine Marten_ is a misnomer in so far as it indicates that the
animal is at all restricted to pine woods; and it is probable that in
the past it led to confusion, for in all the natural histories published
up to a late date in the nineteenth century, Britain was credited with
an additional species, the Beech Marten (_Mustela foina_). The two
species are much alike, and the practice appears to have been to record
those found in pine woods as _M. martes_ and those in other woods as _M.
foina_! Bell, indeed, though he expressly states his disbelief in our
possession of two species of Marten, refers to the white-throated form
as the Beech Marten or Common Marten and says it is more frequently met
with than the yellow-throated form or Pine Marten. The truth is that
there is a white-throated _Mustela foina_ in Europe and Asia, but it
does not reach northward so far as Sweden, Norway, or the British Isles.
The white examples found in this country are old animals from which the
yellow tint has faded.
The Pine Marten may be described as resembling roughly the better known
Polecat, but with longer legs, a broader, more triangular head with
sharp-pointed muzzle, and a longer, more bushy tail. Its entire length
is between twenty-five and thirty inches, of which from nine to twelve
inches are contributed by the tail. Its colour is a rich dark brown,
except on the throat and breast which vary from orange through yellow to
creamy-white. The middle of the back and the exposed sides of the legs
and feet are darker than the rest, whilst beneath the tint approaches
grey. The superficial colour is provided by the long upper, glossy fur,
but beneath this is a finer, softer fur of shorter reddish-grey hairs
tipped with yellow. The eyes are large, black, and prominent, the ears
broad, open, and rounded at the tips. Like all the other members of the
family Mustelidæ, the Marten is provided with glands near the base of
the tail. It is these which enable the Skunk and the Polecat to disgust
their enemies; but in the case of the Marten the secretion is merely of
a musky odour and not objectionable; in consequence one of its old
English names was Sweet Marten to distinguish it from the Foulmart or
Polecat.
The habits of the Pine Marten are mainly arboreal, for which the long
slender body and sharp long claws specially fit it, whilst the long
bushy tail is useful as a balancer in negotiating slender branches in
the pursuit of birds, or in reaching their nests for eggs. All the same,
the Marten is at times very active on the ground where he destroys rats,
mice, voles, rabbits, hares, game-birds, and domestic poultry large and
small. He is even accused of attacking lambs and stealing trout from
the fishing boats. He has also a taste for bilberries, strawberries,
cherries, and raspberries; and C. St. John tells an interesting story
in this connection which illustrates the Marten's cleverness in hiding.
He says: "I saw in my garden in Inverness-shire that some animal came
nightly to the raspberry bushes; the track appeared like that of a
rabbit or hare, but as I also saw that the animal climbed the bushes,
I knew it could be neither of these. Out of curiosity, I set a trap
for the marauder; the next morning, on going to look at it very early,
I could see nothing on the spot where I had put my trap but a heap of
leaves, some dry and some green; I was just going to move them with my
hand, when I luckily discovered a pair of bright eyes peering sharply
out of the leaves, and discovered that I had caught a large Marten, who,
finding that he could not escape, had collected all the leaves within
his reach, and had quite concealed himself under them. The moment he
found that he was discovered, he attacked me most courageously, as the
Marten always does, fighting to the last. I had other opportunities of
satisfying myself that this animal is a great fruit-eater, feeding much
on the wild raspberries, and even blackberries, that grow in the woods."
It also robs beehives of their honey.
[Illustration: _Pl. 42._ _E 64._
*Stoat.*
Characteristic hunting attitude.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 43._ _F 65._
*Weasel.*
Killing a rabbit it has outrun.]
The female Marten forms a nest of grass among the rocks, in a hollow
tree, or utilises an old crow's nest by relining it, and produces
a litter of four or five--sometimes varied in number from two to
seven--and there are at least two litters each year. The young are
exceedingly pretty and are easily tamed; though a captured adult is
savage and untameable.
The dentition of the Marten is: _i 3/3, c 1/1, p 4/4, m 1/2 = 38_.
Cuvier divided the Linnean genus into two subgenera, _Mustela_ and
_Putorius_, the first, Martens and Sables, possessing an additional
small premolar on each side of the jaw; the second including the
Polecats, Stoats, and Weasels. At a later date Nilsson called these
subgenera genera, substituting the name _Martes_ for the Martens and
giving that of _Mustela_ to the Weasels. This has the effect of
making the name of the Pine Marten, _Martes martes_, which is rather
ridiculous; and we have preferred to retain the Linnean name _Mustela
martes_. The old spelling of the popular name was Mart_i_n, but in
recent works, to avoid any possible confusion with the birds of that
name, zoologists have agreed to use _e_ as the second vowel when
writing of the mammals.
The Pine Marten is found in all the wooded regions of Europe and into
Asia; northwards from the Mediterranean to the limits of tree-growth.
*Stoat or Ermine* (_Mustela erminea_, Linn.).
Though the gun and the snare of the gamekeeper and the poultry-farmer
levy their toll upon the Stoat equally with the Polecat, and the
keeper's gibbet always shows a goodly row of Stoats, the species manages
to keep itself well represented, even in the strictly preserved woods of
Southern England. There must, therefore, be some additional reason for
the scarcity of the Polecat (see p. 74).
The Stoat is much smaller than the Polecat, its total length being
only a little more than fourteen inches, of which about four and a half
inches are the long-haired but not very bushy tail. In colour, too, it
is very distinct, the upper parts being red-brown and the under surface
white tinged with yellow. The tail takes the colour of the upper
surface, except its tip which is invariably a tuft of long black hairs.
In the Alpine districts of Scotland as in other northern countries, the
fur in winter becomes pure white all over, with the exception of the tip
of the tail which always remains black. This change takes place also
in the North of England, but not so generally, and in the South it is
only of rare occurrence, and often only partially, some parts remaining
brown, as a ring around the eyes producing a spectacled appearance. The
summer coloration is "protective" inasmuch that it harmonises generally
with the colour of the ground littered with the remains of dead leaves,
bark, etc.; but in a landscape under snow for months, as the Alpine
districts are, the brown fur would render the animal so conspicuous that
it would be heavily handicapped in the hunt for food; but the winter
change to white fur enables the Stoat to steal upon its prey unseen from
a short distance. The change is quite sudden, given the requisite fall
in the temperature, the pigment being withdrawn. (See Introductory
chapter.)
Like the Polecat, the Stoat can secrete a most objectionable odour from
its scent-glands, but in this case it is not nearly so insupportable.
St. John says that if the Stoat is suddenly shot before he has had time
to see his aggressor the dead body has not this offensive odour; the
same result follows upon his sudden death in a spring trap, but if he
is trapped alive or hunted before being shot the vile smell is imparted
to the fur and is irremovable.
The Stoat hunts along hedgerows, rivers and brooks, in the latter places
for fish, of which all the members of the Weasel tribe are exceedingly
fond. An eel or other fish placed in a trap is a deadly bait for these
animals. The Stoat also frequents sand dunes, where it lives sumptuously
upon Rabbits. It is very destructive to game and poultry, which it will
attack right in the open field, and if pursued by a dog, immediately
takes shelter in a mole's or rat's run, where pursuit is impossible.
It will destroy the Mole and take possession of its chamber, though it
appears to be fonder of "field mice" (Voles) than of Moles. Although
largely nocturnal in its habits, it is by no means exclusively so, and
there is more chance of observing the Stoat hunting in broad daylight
than in the case of any other of our native carnivora. Sometimes it
hunts in small packs--family parties; and it is said that when through
increase of its own numbers it has largely reduced the food supply of
a district, it will migrate in large numbers, when their associated
courage is so great that they will attack a man. A single female who
has young will, indeed, exhibit the greatest courage and ferocity in
their defence. The Stoat hunts by scent, and its movements consist
largely of a succession of low bounds which give its progress a
snake-like appearance--and like the other members of the family it
makes sidelong leaps. Many years ago, whilst walking along a woodland
road in Surrey, we paused to listen to cries of terror in the cover far
ahead. A panic-stricken young Rabbit came into the open in our direction
swiftly pursued by a Stoat which rapidly gained upon it. As it came near
the Rabbit became aware of our presence and appeared deliberately to
change its course, and fell on its side exhausted against our feet. The
Stoat, by this time only a few yards away, stopped, and looked up at us
with a snarling expression, but kept out of reach of our uplifted stick.
Realising that the hunt had failed and the Rabbit had found a spoilsport
protector, the Stoat then made off into the bracken; whilst the panting
Rabbit allowed us to carry it on our arm for half a mile until it had
recovered. Its natural fear of man was not nearly so great as its terror
inspired by the bloodthirsty Stoat; and when at length it was set down
in what was judged to be a safe place, it hopped off without any
frightened haste.
It appears that the Hare under similar conditions does not exert
itself greatly to escape from the Stoat, but becomes so terrorised
as to be unable to adopt methods which so frequently outwit the Fox
or the fleetness of trained hounds.
The nursery is made in a hole in the bank, the hollow of a decayed tree,
or in the retreat of a female Mole who has been killed or evicted. Here
about April or May the female Stoat gives birth to four or five young,
which she will defend with great fierceness against all dangers.
The distribution of the Stoat extends eastward from Great Britain into
Asia, and from the Alps and Pyrenees across Europe to its arctic shores.
[Illustration: _Pl. 44._ _F 68._
*Weasel's Hole.*
In woodland bank, containing nest and young.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 45._ _F 69._
*Polecat at Bay.*
Defying a human intruder.]
A local race of smaller size, with some variation in the colouring, is
found in Ireland, and some systematic naturalists, eager to swell our
short list of native mammals, have dignified it with a separate species
name--_Mustela hibernicus_. In Ireland it is known as the Weasel, but no
specimens or skins of the true Weasel (_Mustela nivalis_) have ever been
received from that country. Another local race in the Isle of Jura on
the west coast of Scotland is similarly given species rank.
*Weasel* (_Mustela nivalis_, Linn.).
Although of very similar form to the Stoat, the Weasel may be known by
its smaller size and by the absence of the black tip which marks the
tail of the Stoat. In colour there is little difference in the two
species, except that in the Weasel the upper parts are of a redder
brown and the under parts a purer white than in the Stoat. The head
is narrower and the legs are shorter, whilst the tail, which is a
conspicuous feature of the Stoat, is here less bushy and little more
than half the length of the Stoat's appendage. The average length of
a mature male is nine or ten inches, to which the tail contributes only
two inches; the total length of the female is an inch and a half less
than that of the male.
The long, slender body, short limbs, long neck and small head give it
a snake-like appearance which is helped by its active, gliding
movements. The snake-likeness is accentuated when only the foreparts
are seen protruding from a hole. On one occasion as we passed a stack
of cord-wood on the edge of a wood, our attention was attracted by a
hissing noise. On the level of our face a snake-like head peered out
from between the cord-wood; and many persons would, no doubt, assume
that a snake had threatened them. But the snarling expression exposed
the canine teeth. The cause of the demonstration was not obvious, but
we presumed that there were young Weasels in the stack, and that some
other predatory animal had threatened danger to them just before we
passed, and had aroused the maternal rage. In spite of its small size
the bloodthirsty Weasel is full of courage, and will attack creatures
larger than itself. We have seen it, in the neighbourhood of a barn,
struggling to haul along a nearly full-grown Rat, two or three times
its own weight, after it had paralysed its victim by biting through
the base of the skull. Sometimes it hunts in couples, or family packs.
Although, like the other members of its family, the Weasel is chiefly
nocturnal in habit, it is also active by day, and may be encountered
frequently in our rambles. His diet is varied, and includes rats, mice,
voles, moles, frogs, small birds, and chickens. He will swim in pursuit
of the Water Vole, and will climb trees and bushes in order to rob a
bird's nest of eggs or young. Voles and mice are probably his principal
victims, his small size enabling him to pursue them in their underground
runs. But though the farmer may lose some of his chickens through want
of care in protecting fowl-houses and runs, he has in the Weasel a most
efficient guardian of his mangold-caves and other consumable stores.
Many farmers have testified that their poultry is untouched by the
Weasel, but destroyed by the Stoat.
One winter's day in Cornwall we were strolling up a road from the sea
that ran between farm buildings, when our attention was attracted to the
peculiar movements of some object on the road about a quarter of a mile
ahead. Screaming cries came from the rolling mass, and soon we got near
enough to see that a struggle was going on between two creatures who
were mixed intimately; and finally saw that a large, well-fed Rat had
been taken in charge by a lithe little Weasel. Spots of blood on the
road and the redness of the rodent's neck-fur showed that the bite that
rendered the Rat powerless had been given already. So intent was the
Weasel upon the work in hand that for a moment he appeared ignorant
of our presence within a few feet. Then he paused, stood upright on
his haunches, and looked up with a fierce gleam in his bright black
eyes that seemed to say, "Don't interfere, there's a good fellow. I've
tackled him fairly--let me finish the job." That slight pause gave the
Rat a chance--a very poor one, but he tumbled in a stupid, drunken kind
of way towards the hedge, to which the Weasel had been trying to drag
him.
[Illustration: _Pl. 46._ _F 70._
*Wild Cat.*
Felis silvestris.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 47._ _F 71._
*Weasel.*
Mustela nivalis.]
On the other side of the hedge was a "cave" of mangolds upon which the
Rats had been committing fearful ravages, as is their wont, and this
particular thief had waxed fat upon such fare. The Weasel had evidently
caught him in the act of committing larceny, but the Rat had given the
little policeman a run through the hedge and across the road before the
Weasel had leaped upon the culprit's back and inflicted the deadly bite.
So much was told with tolerable certainty by the drops of blood and
the footprints on the soft road. Now, getting somewhat alarmed at our
presence, the Weasel ran into the hedge; but immediately rallying his
pluck came out of his corner again, seeking his quarry who was at the
hedge-foot, dreamily looking for the hole that in ordinary health
he would have darted to straight. He floundered hopelessly under the
herbage; but in a second or two the Weasel had him again by the skin of
the back, and was trying to haul him up the bank to get him through the
hedge. Then, realising the impossibility of his task--for the Rat was
probably six times the Weasel's weight--and finding we had taken up an
attitude of benevolent neutrality, not loving Rats, he got on the Rat
and finished the business. A few spasmodic movements of the extended
limbs showed that the Rat was dead, so we left the Weasel to enjoy his
feast of brains in the solitude he desired.
[Illustration: *Skeleton of Weasel.*]
When the Weasel has failed by stalking or hunting such prey to secure
a meal, he is known to resort to "charming" tactics. In full view of
a hedgerow where small birds are numerous, he will throw his body
into snake-like contortions to attract their attention. They become
fascinated and curious, and though apparently filled with fear, they
approach nearer and nearer until one is close enough to be grabbed by
the charmer. Then the others recover their senses, and in numbers fly
at the Weasel, mobbing and pecking him in a fearless manner, so that he
is coerced by the defenceless creatures he intended to kill, and is glad
to slink into cover. If there is a scarcity of live food, the Weasel
will content himself with carrion. Its chief enemies are hawks.
There is, as a rule, no seasonal change of colour in the Weasel's fur
in this country; but occasionally it has been found white in winter.
In colder climates this change is quite normal.
The Weasel's nest is placed in a hole in the bank or in some hollow
tree, and consists of dry leaves, grass, etc. In it the female brings
forth from four to six--usually five--young, in spring or early summer;
and the mother will sacrifice her own life in the defence of her
helpless progeny. If necessary to remove them, she does it as a cat
removes her kittens.
In the north it is known as the Whittret = Whitethroat of Suffolk; in
Yorkshire, the Ressel; in Cheshire, the Mouse-killer; in Sussex, the
Beale; and in some parts of Surrey as Kine, which suggests Gilbert
White's Cane, the local name in Hampshire for "a little reddish beast
not much bigger than a field mouse, but much longer," of his fifteenth
letter to Pennant. The more general name Weasel is the Anglo-Saxon
_Wesle_.
When Scotland suffered severely from a "plague" of Field Voles in
1892, the Board of Agriculture appointed a Committee of Enquiry, and
the examination of witnesses--farmers, keepers, shepherds--clearly
established the fact that the chief natural enemy of the Field Vole is
the Weasel, and that the gravest mistake had been made in destroying
and in exporting large numbers to our Dominions in order that they might
there reduce the "plague" of Rabbits. It was even suggested that we
should make good this error by importing Weasels from the Continent and
turning them loose. Other evidence showed that the Weasel is frequently
blamed by game-preservers for what is undoubtedly the work of the Stoat,
the Weasel preferring the lower-lying farmsteads, where Mice and Voles
are abundant, to the elevated ranges frequented by Grouse and Rabbits.
Apart from its preference for the smaller Rodents, the Weasel appears
to differ from the Stoat in being of a less hardy constitution, and
in winter at least requires the shelter afforded by granaries and
rickyards, where it co-operates with the Owls in an unceasing warfare
on the Rats and Mice. Its extra-British distribution agrees with that
of the Stoat.
Albino-Weasels, with pure white fur and pink eyes, have been recorded
several times, but they appear to be very rare.
*Polecat* (_Mustela putorius_, Linn.).
In contradistinction to the Sweet-mart already described, our
forefathers called the Polecat or Fitchew the Foumart or Foul Marten,
because the secretion from the glands under the tail is intolerably
acrid and mephitic; on this account the fur is considered useless, the
odour attaching to it permanently. Like the Marten, the Polecat, thanks
mainly to the unremitting vigilance of the gamekeeper, has become very
rare in this country. In this case there can be no doubt that the keeper
is fully justified, for there is no more destructive beast among our
native carnivora. It is still common throughout Europe, as far north as
central Scandinavia.
Though in general appearance similar to the Marten, the Polecat is
smaller, has shorter legs and a shorter tail, and differs in colour.
The entire length is about two feet, but of this the bushy tail accounts
for about seven inches. Its long coarse fur is dark brown on the upper
parts of the body, and black on the under surface. The head, also, is
blackish, relieved with white marks about the muzzle and between the
ears and eyes. The weight of a full-grown Polecat is about six pounds.
Its usual habitat is a wood or copse, not too far from a plunderable
farm; but it has no fixed type of dwelling, taking advantage of any
hole, be it a fox-earth, a rabbit-burrow, or a natural rock crevice;
often indeed a woodstack in the farmyard may be utilised. On the
approach of winter it looks out for some deserted building where it can
find shelter. Unlike the Marten, it is not much of a climber, and does
not exhibit the sprightly agility of that species. It is a nocturnal
hunter, and is an adept at finding entrance to a hen-house, where it has
been known to kill off every one of the inmates in a night, though it
could only make off with a solitary hen. Although it may consume the
brains of its victims on the spot, the bodies are always carried to its
lair for more leisured consumption. Its food includes eggs of all kinds,
rabbits, rats, mice, birds, fish, frogs, lizards, and snakes, including
the viper, whose poison is considered to be innocuous in the blood of
the Polecat. When it gets into the poultry yard, the superior size of
some of its victims does not alarm it; a goose will serve its turn as
well as a chicken. Bell tells of sixteen turkeys that were killed in one
night by a single Foumart; though, of course, it could not drag away one
of the carcasses. Its usual method of carrying smaller prey is to grip
them by the middle of the back, much as a retriever carries game. In
addition to the remains of hares, rabbits, numerous birds, and several
eels, C. St. John found in the larder of a she-polecat the bodies of
three kittens which he knew to have been drowned at least a quarter of a
mile away.
[Illustration: _Pl. 48._ _F 74._
*Polecat.*
Mustela putorius.]
[Illustration: _Pl. 49._ _F 75._
*Young Squirrels.*
The side of the "drey" has been removed.]
The Polecat pairs about February, and from three to eight (mostly five
or six) young to a litter are born in April or May. The nest is made of
dry grass. There is probably a second litter a few months later.
The dentition of the Polecat, the Weasel, and the Stoat, is the same as
that of the Marten, except that there are only three premolar teeth on
each side of the jaws. In setting traps for Polecats the bait is found
to be rendered far more seductive by scenting it with musk.
* * * * *