Chiltern Polecat - picture evidence!

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Hi Vixen,

I think they're simply worn down through constant use on rough ground, domestic ferrets don't get anywhere near the amount of excercise a wild polecat would.

Jonathan

I agree, i dont think you could ID it due to how worn its claws are.

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Hi Vixen,

I think they're simply worn down through constant use on rough ground, domestic ferrets don't get anywhere near the amount of excercise a wild polecat would.

Jonathan

very true

i just thought they looked like mine when they been cut.

[ChrisJB]

I too saw what I am sure was a dead Polecat yesterday, on the hard shoulder of the M6, near Carnforth in north Lancashire.

Regards, Chris

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

I too saw what I am sure was a dead Polecat yesterday, on the hard shoulder of the M6, near Carnforth in north Lancashire.

Regards, Chris

I believe a road-kill carcass from the A6 near Carnforth was sent to the Vincent Wildlife Trust a few years ago, apparently it was verified genetically as a pure polecat.

I found a road-kill polecat near Warton Crag, Carnforth, a couple of years ago, looked like a pure polecat and had a very coarse coat, more so than any ferret I've handled.

You can download a pdf that has maps of possible distribution of polecats in the UK from here:

http://www.vwt.org.uk/publications/S..._July_2006.pdf

Jonathan

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I believe a road-kill carcass from the A6 near Carnforth was sent to the Vincent Wildlife Trust a few years ago, apparently it was verified genetically as a pure polecat.

I found a road-kill polecat near Warton Crag, Carnforth, a couple of years ago, looked like a pure polecat and had a very coarse coat, more so than any ferret I've handled.

You can download a pdf that has maps of possible distribution of polecats in the UK from here:

http://www.vwt.org.uk/publications/S..._July_2006.pdf

Jonathan

Cheers for that Jonathan. That kind of verifies that I wasn't seeing things! Also, it's great news how they are colonising the county. I go up to Silverdale and the Warton Crag area quite a bit. I'll keep my eyes seriously peeled now.

Regards, Chris

[profmoriarty]

Hello, this is a very interesting thread to find!

In 2003 I lived in the immediate area of where you saw the polecat(s), and I used to walk my two un neutered male polecats around the Sewell Cutting and Green Lanes area and on Dunstable Downs.

One day someone meddling in the garden allowed them to escape, one was found nearby and returned the same day but the bigger of the two never came back and Ive often thought of him out there hunting and breeding!

The poor little stinker in the photos looks far too small to be 'Ftang' but its nice to think that maybe Ftang left a polecat legacy in our old stomping ground. Chuffed with that.

[jimiboy]

About two years ago, I saw polecats on the Ridgeway, not far from the Oxfordshire village of Pyrton (or from the M40, junction 6). There were two of them, unmistakeably polecats with striped faces, playing near the path in broad daylight. I watched them for a quarter of an hour. From discussions with knowledgeable friends, I gather that they are gradually drifting eastwards from Wales, where they never quite died out in the way that they did in central England.
I have returned to the spot more than once, but never seen them again.

[saffronkai]

No picture evidence but I saw a polecat tonight...running along the road near Kimpston south of luton . I used to have a pet ferret so am 99% sure that this was a polecat.....same face...same movements....hopefully not a released pet and a wild one going about its business. Very much alive and was a pleasure to spot!!!

Rose

[Dogs]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I believe a road-kill carcass from the A6 near Carnforth was sent to the Vincent Wildlife Trust a few years ago, apparently it was verified genetically as a pure polecat.

I found a road-kill polecat near Warton Crag, Carnforth, a couple of years ago, looked like a pure polecat and had a very coarse coat, more so than any ferret I've handled.

You can download a pdf that has maps of possible distribution of polecats in the UK from here:

http://www.vwt.org.uk/publications/S..._July_2006.pdf

Jonathan

Yes there are plenty of polecats in Lancashire, especially the hill and marginal ground. Also Cumbria and Northumberland have healthy populations. Again hill districts having the biggest populations, probably due to less road deaths.

Its a shame you didnt put something next to that road kill polecat for a measure of size, as it looks like a male, but often the wild polecat is much larger and stronger than the domestic ferret.