[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Is brown the new white? At this time of year stoats traditionally change the colour of their fur from brown to white but this is no longer a good survival tactic for them.
The colour change is governed by the stoat's pituitary gland which reacts to the cold weather and reduced hours of daylight. The white fur coat, known as 'ermine' has been highly prized for centuries by royalty, nobility and others for their showgirl costumes.
But for the stoat this white fur isn't for show - it's for snow. Having good camouflage in a snowy environment can make the difference between life and death.
However the changing UK weather conditions don't always work in the stoats favour. The fur-colour-changing-trick was a brilliant evolutionary strategy during the last ice age, but as each winter gets less and less snowy, the white fur becomes more of a hindrance. It's not just us dreaming of a white Christmas.
Fact is, a white stoat in an unwhite habitat sticks out like a porcupine at a nudist's colony. Without snow the stoat's dinner will see it coming a mile off, so to compensate for this predicament stoats are re-evolving!
In the southern half of the UK where there is less snowfall they're becoming less white in the wintertime. They literally change to half brown and half white (see photo above). If winters keep getting warmer then stoats in ermine could become extremely rare animals.
Scientific name: Mustela erminea
Size: Head to base of tails around 25cm. The tail is approximately 10cm long.
Distribution: Found throughout the UK.
Months seen: All year round
Food: Rabbits, fish, game birds, rats, mice, voles and reptiles.
Habitat: Woodlands and farmland.
Special features: The stoats fur is usually reddish-brown coloured on its back, and creamy-white on the underside. The tail has a distinctive black tip.
Stoats in the north change the colour of their fur during the winter months. They turn completely white, except for the tip of the tail which remains black. This is a camouflage when the ground is covered in snow. The white fur is known as "ermine", and stoats in ermine used to be trapped and killed to make fur clothing.
Stoats can overpower prey up to six times larger than themselves. They usually kill their prey with a bite to the back of the neck.
The main food of the stoat is rabbit, but it will take almost any meat including game birds and poultry. For this reason the stoat has been persecuted for centuries by farmers and gamekeepers.
Stoats have a strong sense of smell and excellent hearing, but their eyesight is poor in comparison.
Mon Nov 26, 2012 1:05 pm
