Hi all

I was on the Tees on Saturday and saw a ?polecat? wander down to the river, take a drink, then wander around on the bank for about 5 minutes.

I have never seen a polecat in the wild before, and do not know thier distribution. Is it likely to have been one and is it a rare sighting??

I suppose the other explanation is that it was an escapee ferret with sable markings, however it appeared very much 'at home'.

Can antone shed some light on what it was I am likely to have saw?

Graeme

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Bi-Colour Fluoro Drops Indicators

Probably a Mink?

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Ferrets can have exactly the same markings as a Polecat. It is likely you saw an escapee and if it was a large Hob (male) then it's an easy mistake. I once owned a Polecat and he was very similar to ferrets I also kept at the time, just bigger and softer as in woss!

Plenty of ferrets are abandoned. Typical scenario is the ferret is released loose down a burrow, catches a rabbit, kills and eats some of it then has a big kip. Only solution is to dig it out. That can be impossible due to tree roots and perhaps a very deep burrow. So matey has little choice but to go home and maybe return next day for a look around.

The two can look very much the same. Check this for more info...

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-2795

Chris.

I'm thinking mink as well - I've certainly seen them in the wild in all colours from blonde to black. However, their numbers seem to have been put into decline by the resurgence of the otter. I see a lot less mink these days compared to 10 years ago - and a lot more otters . Are there otters in the area where you saw it?

It could have been a pure polecat - numbers seem to be recovering...

Polecats

... or a Heinz 57 of polecat and ferret.

Col

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This thread had me scratching my head for a moment. Here "Polecat" is a slang term for a Skunk. Skunks, Skunk Pictures, Skunk Facts - National Geographic

For those of you who are not familiar with our 'Polecat' just trust me you/your Dog don't want to be 'south of a north bound' one.

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There are no wild polecats ion your part of the world. Nor pine martins. It was almost certainly a polecat ferret that had escaped. It could also have been a mink. Both would be pretty brave about wandering around...

Andy

We have loads of polecat- ferrets up here.
There are a lot of people who set traps in particular the ones who keep hens.
You would think with the amount there are that the rabbit population wouldn't be as great as it is.
There is a loch I fish that has a bit of a sandy bank which is riddled with holes and you can sometimes see a mass of heads sticking out.

Correct. Someone has lost a poley ferret.

Definately not a mink, Ive seen plenty of them about to know that. I think i'm erring on the sable ferret escapee theory.

Graeme

defo ascapee ferret cross, lots escape or are released into the wild very very few survie the winter.

terry

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"It is only the inexperienced and thoughtless who find pleasure in killing fish for the mere sake of killing them. No sportsman does this." - W.C. Prime, 1888