Stoat Kits

We are all very excited here at the centre, as we have stoat babies in the hedgerow!

Last year a young wild stoat came to us which had been caught by a cat... she was in a bad way, and Katie took on the job of looking after her. After much care she survived, but became too friendly to release and so we offered her a home here in our hedgerow.

Last week I was washing windows, and heard a squeaking noise... and rushing over to the stoat pen, saw "Dorris" carrying two of her kits down a hole in a log. From the size of them I am guessing they are about four weeks old. Their eyes are still closed, but they have started to wean and nibble on solid food.

Having not been with a male stoat here, is it still not a great surprise that she was pregnant as they do have delayed implantation. Female stoats reproductive system develops very quickly form birth, and often a male will go into a nest site and mate with the females kits when they are still very young!

I will keep you updated of their progress over the coming months.

Isn't he cute?

I know... it's a rat, and many people may have an aversion to rats... but bare with me...

A couple of weeks a go now, we accidentally disturbed a rat pup whilst cleaning them out. The problem is once they have your scent on them, the likely hood is that the mother will abandon them, and so we enrolled Katie as surrogate rat mum!

The aim is to keep this little chap friendly to show off to school groups when they visit. He has already met a few people, and seems to be taking to his role well... I will of course keep you updated on his progress as he grows.

So yes... It's a rat... but, rats are fantastic creatures. One of my favourites! There is so much misunderstanding about rats so here are a few facts to try and convert some of you.


 - Rats are very intelligent, and have great memories

 - A group of rats is called a "mischief"

 - Rats are social animals, and even care for their sick and injured

 - Rats were a sign of good luck to the Romans

 - Rats are very clean animals, and spend hours a day grooming

 - Rats make a "laughing" call when tickled, at a level not heard by the human ear

 - Rats have been trained to drag wires through walls in some places for electricians

Wildcat Kittens

The cat is amongst the pigeons... no, hang on... the pigeon is out of the bag?.. no, that's not right either... The cat is out of the bag!.. Or the kittens at least. Yes, we do have wildcat kittens here at the Centre.

Just over a month ago now, one of our females "Iona" gave birth to a litter of three kittens. We kept it quiet as to give her the best chance of rearing them successfully herself, and minimise the stress of several people trying to get a look in to her pen or hear the squeaks from the box.

However, now at the end of our busy half term week, the kittens have started to make an appearance for themselves... under the watchful eye of mum of course.

For a couple of spells through the day, they have been spotted poking their heads out of the box, feeding from mum, playing and climbing, before wearing themselves out and retreating back to bed for a nap.

We are all so pleased to have a litter here, and I of course will keep you updated with their progress as they grow and mature.

If you want to come and try and see them, then we are open every weekend and bank holiday through till the end of October... and everyday throughout the summer holidays for our local schools.

Please do respect the stand off barrier we have around the enclosure, stay the correct side of it, and this will not only give you the better possible view of the kittens (as mum will be more relaxed to let them come out), but also will mean less chance of the cats trying to get you!...