Polecat 2006 Report

In the summer 2006 edition of The Grebe I wrote about the polecat, how it had been driven from most of the country by persecution, but was gradually re-colonising from its last stronghold in Wales. At the end of the article I asked readers for any polecat sightings. The polecat is generally considered shy and elusive, so I was not expecting many sightings. Nonetheless a surprising number of reports trickled in over the next few weeks.

Our publicity people used the article as the basis for a press release, which resulted in articles in a number of local newspapers and a couple of short interviews on local radio. The climax of this was a short feature on BBC North-West Tonight, which included some very good close-up images of captive polecats, as well as CWT’s phone number.

As a result the trickle became a flood, and I was inundated by a totally unexpected number of sightings, reported by phone and e-mail. Some people sent photos and I even received a video of a polecat exploring a garden patio. Wherever possible I validated reports over the phone, getting people to describe exactly the animal they had seen. By the end of the year we had accumulated nearly 100 new records, and learnt much about the distribution and behaviour of polecats in Cheshire.

Results
Polecats have been seen in all parts of Cheshire, and appear to be common in many areas. Gratifyingly, only a tiny fraction of the sightings were of road casualties. There was a bias towards the east side of the county, but this probably reflect a bias in the newspaper coverage. Large numbers of animals were reported from around Wilmslow, Stockport, Macclesfield and Northwich. In some places, notably Macclesfield and Wilmslow, I received several reports from a very small area: I began to wonder if there were some individual polecats that particularly liked people!

After looking at the photos and talking to many people I concluded almost all sightings really were polecats. This may be due to the quality of the pictures that accompanied the written articles and the pictures on the television, which enabled people to identify what they had seen.

The many photos received all showed animals that looked like pure-bred polecats. This is important as in some parts of the country there are populations of feral ferrets, and hybridisation with ferrets is thought to be a threat to the long-term survival of polecats. It is encouraging to know there is no evidence of this happening in Cheshire.

Surprisingly, many of the reports were from urban areas. The polecat’s usual habitats are woodlands and hedgerows, and they often forage along rivers and canals. Where these habitats form a mosaic with built-up areas, such as around Wilmslow and Stockport, polecats have penetrated deep into our towns. A few reports were from housing estates, several hundred meters from more traditional polecat habitat.

The most interesting observation was the large number of polecats seen in domestic gardens. A number of people reported seeing a polecat at quite close quarters, and the animal appearing almost unafraid of them. Polecats seem happy to be close to people, and frequently denned and raised families under garden sheds or decking, or in one case in a cellar. It is likely they find plenty to eat around our homes, either from scavenging rubbish or from food deliberately left out for domestic pets or to attract other wildlife. This close association with people has never been reported before. It is interesting to speculate if polecats are adapting their behaviour to live alongside us, in the same way that foxes have adapted to living in urban areas.

The public were overwhelmingly supportive of polecats, were pleased to see them, eager to share information, even proud of their resident animals. There were only 2 negative reports, and in one case this was understandable as a family of polecats had moved in under the floorboards, leaving behind some very smelly food remains, so the entire floor had to be pulled up and re-laid! Given the polecat’s previous status as vermin this change in attitude is very welcome, and bodes well for the polecat’s future.

Although the original article was intended to raise awareness of the polecat, rather than generate sightings, it has demonstrated how appealing to the public can generate many useful biological records. Previously, the polecat had been considered hard to survey, and the majority of old records were for road victims. These new records have expanded their known range in Cheshire as well as giving new insight into their behaviour, and increasing public awareness of polecats.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who sent in polecat sightings.

We would still like to hear about polecats you may have seen, alive or dead, and would especially like to see any photos. Contact me by email