Stoat/Ermine question

[Rob_D]

I've never seen a stoat that's gone white (ermine). The books say they do it in northern Britain in the winter. Obviously the moult is triggered by the seasonal change before winter, but is the winter colour inherited or determined by some environmental factor?

If I captured a Scottish stoat and let him loose in southen England, would he stay brown in winter? If I took a southern stoat and put him in northern Scotland, would he go white? Will Scottish stoats quickly evolve to stop going white if global warming means less snow in Scotland? (Please, please, please no posts on this thread disputing global warming, evolution or gravity etc).

[Hedge Witch]

Hi Rob, There is a hereditary component to this.

Studies in various parts of the World have shown that stoats transplanted from warm areas stayed brown in freezing conditions (when native stoats turned white). If they did the experiment the other way round, the converse was true.

From:

King, C.M. (1991) The Stoat and the Weasel, Corbet, G. B. & Harris S. (Eds).

[Hedge Witch]

For your interest, Hertfordshire Stoats have a borderline tendency to turn white, but can turn fully white in very cold winters when the temperatures reach below 2 oC for several weeks (Michael Clark (Ed), 2001, in Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles of Hertfordshire).

[Dogghound]

Ive seen both white and brown ones here over winter. As hedge witch says it is hereditary. More prevalent in northern populations as more survive due to their white colour so more genes are passed on and vica versa.