Polecat Babies

You may remember that I brought news of polecat babies being born here a month a go? Well they were born off display, but now the kits are old enough to be put back on display with mum with no risk of disturbing them.

Above is the proud mother, "Velvet." We moved the 7 kitts back into her main enclosure on display, next to our mink enclosure and then quickly introduced both her and the male "Storm." Going back to their main home, they were quick to recognise where they were and it was with in minutes that Velvet started to move her kits from the nest box to her underground den she is used to.

The kits are now 4 weeks old, but develop relatively slowly. After a short gestation of 6 weeks, the kits remain helpless until their eyes open up at 5 weeks old. At this age they are already weaned, with the mother taking solid food down to them before their eyes have opened.

Keep an eye open this weekend for our polecats. Storm and Velvet are very active, looking for extra food and keeping an eye out on who is about. You may even be lucky enough to glimpse the kits if Velvet decides to move them to a different den site.

Red Squirrels

 

Once again our squirrels have bred successfully this year. We now have several litters of kittens that will be ready to move on to there new homes in a couple of months time, and even a couple of mothers who are about to give birth to their second litters of 2012. 

Therefore we have had to move the 2 oldest litters of kittens into the holding pens in our walk-through enclosure. It is likely that these squirrels will not stay in there, but will be moved on loan to other wildlife centres in the south, but the holding pens will provide them with a good temporary home until that time arrives.

Once they have been moved on, these two spare pens will then be used as a halfway home to introduce a few more squirrels out in to the Copse. We have a couple of old breeding pairs which have not produced this year, possibly due to their age, and so I think it will be nice to allow them to retire out in our walk-through enclosure. This will then free up there breeding pens for two new and young pairs to be set up, ready for next year and hopefully some more kittens.

We currently have around a dozen squirrel in the walk-through enclosure, to which we think we can probably add another half dozen... this will leave them at a comfortable number while still giving space for if they breed in there next year.

Of the dozen or so already out there, about 8 of them are very friendly, and do not shy away from people when they are wandering through.

One of the most common things I am asked when doing the talk, is can I recognise each individual one?... And yes, I am sad to say that we can, and they even all have names. For those of you that have asked here are their names:

Anthony

Cyril

Rupert

Nutkin

Nutmeg

Rufus

Rusty

Russell

So that's 6 males and 2 females. One of the females, "Nutkin", is even rivalling our friendliest squirrel "Anthony" for most appearances and naughtiest behaviour... climbing into peoples bags, and always on the look out for a nut... and let me tell you, there are plenty of nuts about when we are open!

Some of the lesser seen ones are recognisable, but we will only name them as they become a more frequent visitor to the talks.

Keep your eyes open for Anthony and the gang next time you are here... best times to see them are around the talk at 10.30am and again nearer the end of the day.

Introducing Albus...

Say hello to our new red deer stag, "Albus"... or Albus Dumbledeer to give him his full name. (He's the one with the big red ear tag). Yes that's right, not content with just Dobby and Kreacher, I am trying to get as many Harry Potter related names around the Centre as I can.

It has been planned for a long time to introduce a new stag into our herd, the idea being that he can grow to lead the group and introduce some fresh genes into the mix when it comes to breeding. Afer Eric sadly passing away earlier this year, it made sense for it to be now. This gives Albus a chance to settle in well in advance of the rutting period.

Isn't he a handsome chap?.. Albus is only 2 years old, and has come from a local deer farm.

After unloading him this morning, he seems to have already settled in. When I nipped out this afternoon to get a couple of photos, he was mixing with the rest of the herd. The hinds seemed to love this new male presence about, and although the other males were pushing him about a bit, it was only the usual dominance which was not aggressive at all. Give him time, and he will soon become the Master Stag... a powerful position to have, especially at such a young age.

With great power comes great responsibility, but I am sure Albus will cope and excel that role.

Whilst on deer news, check out the photo above. We have had 2 red deer calves born here already! A little earlier than you would expect, but with the warm weather and a protective family I am sure they will grow and thrive.

Come and see Albus Dumbledeer this weekend.