The Stoat, or Ermine.
This is the commonest and most widely distributed of all the Weasel Tribe. In winter the fur turns to pure white in the northern countries, and occasionally in Southern England. It is then known as the Ermine, and yields the ermine fur. In every country where it is found it is the deadly foe of all small animals, from the hare to the smallest field-mice. It has the same passion for killing for killing's sake shared by the ferret. If a stoat finds a rabbit's nest, for instance, it always murders all the young ones. These creatures sometimes contrive to hunt in packs, or to migrate in society. They are very fond of their young, which they lay up in old crows' nests, holes in banks, or straw-stacks. They have often been seen to carry them out of danger in their mouths. The length of the head and body is 10¾ inches, and of the tail 6½ inches. The young are usually from five to eight in number, and are born in April or May. They soon move into the long standing-grass, and remain there till it is cut. After that they move to the woods and covers, and great numbers are trapped. If not, they attack the young pheasants, and do great damage. They can climb well, and are known, as is the polecat, to ascend trees and kill birds on their nests. They also suck eggs. Forty-two pheasants' eggs were taken by Mr. de Winton from one stoat's hole.
Photos by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
COMMON STOAT.
In summer coat. In winter coat.
These photographs show the stoat (or ermine, as it is often called) in its summer and winter coats. This animal gives us the well-known ermine fur.
The Glutton, or Wolverine.
This largest and most destructive of all the Weasel Tribe is found all round the northern edge of the Arctic Circle, from Norway to Hudson Bay. It is a large heavy animal, with a short head, sharp claws, long thick fur, and a clumsy gait. Its tusks are very long and sharp; and its appetite, if not so insatiable as the old travellers were told, is sharp enough to keep it always hunting. It follows the fur-trappers in the woods, and, being very cunning, breaks in at the back of their fall-traps, and robs the baits or the prey caught. When Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle made the North-west Passage by land, they lost nearly all their furs in this way. Once, having trapped a valuable silver fox, the only one caught by them, they found nothing but shreds of fur left by the glutton. As the marten-hunters' line of traps is perhaps fifty or sixty miles long, the loss and damage caused by the glutton is most mortifying. This animal can only be caught in steel traps, and that with great difficulty.
