On the scent of elusive polecat

What would you say is the UK’s least known mammal? It’s not the wild cat, nor the pine marten nor even the dubious legion of big cats stalking the countryside just out of camera range.

This is a creature so obscure that a large proportion of the population don’t even realise they are sharing these Isles with this stinky and secretive beast.

But the penny may drop with the clue that this denizen of the night has a very close relative that grown men have been gingerly placing down their trousers for generations.

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The mystery animal in question is, of course, the peerless and pongy polecat.

Yes, old stinker is back from the brink. An animal so rare that it was once reduced to a tiny population clinging on in West Wales has fought back and swelled its ranks to numbers approaching 50,000 while expanding its range both south and eastwards.

But why is the polecat so little known in the first place? Why has it struggled so much and how has it fought its way back?

First things first, when considering the polecat, it is impossible to discount the smell.

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The clue is in its scientific name – Mustela putorius. Putor in Latin means foul smell.

Polecats have scent glands either side of their nether regions which they use to make a pungent and impressively repellent scent.

And the beast uses this singular gift to engage in bouts of acrobatic chemical warfare.

If alarmed the polecat can execute a hand-stand and from this position, elaborately squirt the scent backwards, into the face of would-be assailants.

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The animal’s highly questionable habits don’t end there. It seems that the polecat possesses a dislike of amphibians.

Polecats have a tendency of indiscriminately killing dozens of frogs and toads. These hapless beasts are found in funereal droves along the riverbank – killed or paralysed with a single bite to the spinal cord. The fact that the polecat’s startlingly unsavoury habits are so little known bears testament to the animal’s rarity.

But the polecat was not always so scarce. The animal, a large relation of the weasel, was, until the 19th century, found throughout much of mainland Britain.

Like other members of the mustelid family, its fate was nearly sealed through its very thick, very warm and therefore very desirable coat.

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Polecats were killed in their thousands for their pelts – this, couple with persecution from gamekeepers and ongoing habitat destruction, led to the population falling to catastrophic levels of around 5,000. But a few decades ago the polecat’s fortunes began to change.

In the early 1980s the species was afforded protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and four years ago was added to the list of Biodiversity Action Plan species.

The polecat has slowly but surely recovered its numbers with an estimated 48,000 now at large in the British countryside. The animal has recently even been seen as far south as Southampton.

Laura Drake, surveys officer at the Mammal Society, explains: “The return of the polecat is a real good news story.

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“They are still not common, but thanks to conservation efforts and a reduction in persecution they are now much more widespread than they used to be.

“Valleys and farms are the best places to see them and any rabbit habitat, they like to live in old burrows and also prey on rabbits.”

Although it would take a very brave man to drop a polecat down his trousers, its close relative, the ferret, is another matter entirely.

The mind-boggling practice of ferret legging, which is believed to have originated in Yorkshire, relies, as the name implies, on ferrets.

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The record for keeping one of the these writhing balls of bitey fur down your trousers stands at just shy of six hours, but, and with good reason, the hobby is on the wane.

Ferrets are now much more commonly kept as pets or for hunting rabbits and the bizarre sight of these beasts straining at the leash as they are “walked” through towns and cities is becoming increasingly regular.

But isn’t a ferret a polecat? Well, yes and no.

The ferret is the domesticated descendant of the polecat and they can be told apart by the ferret’s much lighter coat, making them easier to spot as they emerge from a rabbit hole.

But the water is muddied further with the presence of ferret polecats – ferrets crossed with wild polecats.

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Still, it is advisable to discard these vagaries, for when on the hunt for old stinker, it’s always best to follow your nose.

For more information about the polecat, visit the Mammal Society at www.mammal.org.uk

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