Stoats are out there

Stoats are, unfortunately, widespread in New Zealand but, being generally solitary and wary, they’re not often seen.

However, John Abel sent us this photo of a stoat, well camouflaged amongst rocks on the hills above Lyttelton, where he has regularly been seeing them recently.

Meanwhile, DOC Technical Adviser, Nick Poutu, has seen stoat tracks in mud several times when out and about. He sent us a photograph of stoat footprints in mud, which has now filled a gap in our stoat clue section. He found the prints on a track that crosses through scrub on the edge of some regenerating podocarp hardwood forest, near Turangi.

Thanks, John and Nick!