Welcome back to the latest Writtle Wildlife Watch! We hope you have all been enjoying your summer. Conservation expert, Alan Roscoe, writes about the latest wildlife he has spotted on campus.
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Have you ever noticed that when you see an animal or bird
for the very first time, you then begin to see it almost regularly, despite the
fact you have never encountered it before? Isn’t that strange? And before
anyone else jumps in, I am claiming this phenomenon as ‘Roscoe’s Rule’.
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| Stoat image: Wikipedia "Mustela erminea upright" by Steve Hillebrand, USFWS |
Rather curiously, this appears to be happening on the
College’s main campus area with two species in particular suddenly popping up
everywhere. Grass Snake is definitely moving into areas it has not been seen
before and the impressive size of the females makes for some exciting sightings
for students around the campus gardens.
But the real crowd pleaser has been Stoat which, over the
past year or so, has also been plucking up courage and moving further onto the
main campus. I have certainly seen more Rabbit recently and my suspicion is
that the Stoats are simply following their prey. In fact the latest sighting
was last week when a colleague heard a Rabbit squealing in a distressed manner
at the sight of Stoat (well you would, wouldn’t you?) although he tells me the
result was Rabbit 1 Stoat 0.
Relatively speaking, Stoat has what is known as a wide
‘ecological amplitude’. In other words, it displays an ability to adapt to a
wide range of environmental conditions. For this reason, it is found throughout
Britain although an individual animal will not usually survive beyond its
second year. And a curious anomaly: Stoats are legally protected in Ireland but
not in the UK.
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