A census is taking place in the Aude of a member of the mustelid family of mammals, the polecat (putois in French). They are very difficult animals to see due to their secretive habits; I have only ever glimpsed one, while driving near my home, even though they are listed as being of least concern.
Like many members of the family, they are nocturnal. You may, perhaps, have come across the domestic ferret, which has been bred as a pet and shares a common ancestry with wild polecats. I once encountered a ferret on the riverbank of a nearby town and, having asked the owner if it was safe to do so, gave its head a pat – whereupon it promptly bit my finger…
Although the mustelid family does produce musk from scent glands, the word ‘mustelid’ does not refer to this characteristic, but derives from the Latin word for weasel, mustela. Members of the family are carnivorous, with a varied diet. Polecats are reputed to have a particular taste for chickens, but this is no doubt opportunistic; being slim and lithe, it is relatively easy for them to slip into a henhouse, where a ready supply of easily captured prey awaits.
At the edge of the mill’s garden there is a wildlife corridor: a clearly marked track that I know is regularly used by animals late at night. I have seen a badger using it, and also a pine marten. Often, when I take the dogs out last thing at night, they look up towards the track and bark, clearly aware of a passing animal.
Jonathan's wildlife corridor cameraJonathan Kemp
Wild animals use tracks and paths on a regular basis. Sometimes they even use the same paths as we do; I often see signs of their passing – droppings, paw prints, and hoof marks – on my walks. Why wouldn’t they? With their droppings, they are leaving messages for others of their kind, or for rivals.
To improve our chances of seeing this elusive animal, we have set up a camera trap focused on the track. These small devices can take pictures using an infrared sensor triggered by movement and changes in ambient temperature, and they also use LED technology to enable night-time vision. I am fairly certain we will capture images of a badger as well.
The way to distinguish a polecat from its close relatives, such as mink and martens, is to look for the contrasting white markings around the face. However, these markings can fade in summer – leading to confusion with mink – a mink is always uniformly coloured, whereas a polecat will retain patches of brown, at least on its flanks.
Unfortunately, most of the mink we see are an invasive species: the American mink, escapees from fur farms where they were bred for their lustrous coats and later released into the wild when farming them ceased to be profitable.
The quality of their fur has long been a problem for many members of the mustelid family. They have been hunted, trapped and confined to fur farms throughout history, particularly over the past few centuries as a mass market developed to serve an increasingly affluent human population. To some extent, the situation has improved in recent years, as awareness of conservation and the threats posed by human activity has grown. The return of the otter in France and Western Europe is a good example of this (see my article in the May issue).
The European badger (blaireau in French) has not generally been persecuted for its fur, although I remember my father giving me a badger-hair shaving brush when I first needed one. However, the relationship between badgers and the farming industry in the UK reveals another side of the assumption that human needs override those of wildlife.
Badgers at risk from questionable science
Based on questionable science suggesting that badgers are responsible for bovine tuberculosis, nearly 250,000 badgers have been culled in the UK since 2013, despite the existence of more effective alternatives. In France, the species is also persecuted under the guise of hunting ‘tradition’, despite the fact that 85% of the population opposes the practice.
In France, the European badger is persecuted under the guise of the hunting ‘tradition’, though the French public opposes thisAdrian Henderson
France’s drier climate is less favourable for badgers than the damper conditions of the UK, which support their preferred diet of earthworms, but I do occasionally see them, mainly at night. They are large animals, reaching up to nearly 90cms in body length. Their latrines – pits 10-15cms deep – are easy to find, as they deliberately dig them and use them as territorial markers. There is no mistaking badger droppings: abundant, usually yellow-grey in colour, and lacking the pointed ends typical of other carnivores.
More commonly seen in our area are pine martens (martre des pins) and stone martens (fouine). Medium-sized animals, they can be difficult to distinguish.
The pine marten has a slightly smaller white chest patch, a brown nose (compared to the pinkish nose of the stone marten), and somewhat larger ears. Other differences can only be identified through closer anatomical examination.
The weasel (belette) is the smallest of the mustelidsMichel Fernandez
Finally, the smallest member of the mustelid family is the weasel (belette). A mere 30cms in length, including its short tail, I have only ever seen one darting across a path in front of me. Active both day and night, they mainly prey on mice and voles but are also capable of taking rabbits – impressive for such a small animal. They are often described as bundles of fury, much like their close relatives, the stoats (hermine).
I count myself lucky whenever I glimpse any of these animals, glad that some wildness still remains in the world. One must be persistent, and somewhat nocturnal, to see them, but the effort is always worthwhile, and far superior to watching them on television.
It is also possible to enlist the help of professionals and join a guided tour, where animals are often accustomed to visiting hides where bait has been placed for them.
