The stoat

The stoat looks a lot like the weasel.

Stoats live in hedges and ditches. They will attack rats, mice, birds, leverets and animals such as rabbits, which are much bigger than themselves. When faced with a stoat a rabbit is often so terrified that it becomes frozen with fear and may even die of fright.

There may be up to ten babies in a litter.

In summer the stoat is brown and in winter it is white.

The stoat is also called the “short tailed weasel”.

The stoat used to be hunted for its valuable coat/fur. The tip of the stoat’s tail always stays black. The stoats like all mammals feed their babies with milk from their bodies. The life span is five to ten years.