Polecat Update

A little while a go now we welcomed two new pairs of polecat to the Centre. Billy and Roxie are an unproven breeding pair, and were placed on display straight away... they had been living together for some time.

Our other new pair, Whitstable and Oriel, had yet to live together . They have been off display since they arrived last month, but a couple of weeks ago we slowly introduced them to each other and have now moved them on display. They have been moved in to the main enclosure up by our badgers and snakes, and we have moved Billy and Roxie in to one of our Hedgerow enclosures.

Whitstable, pictured and the top, and Oriel, just above, have settled down really well. Whitstable has been out for the public since day one in his new home, but it has taken Oriel a little longer to get used to people being around... still, now she is out and about most afternoons too.

The males are always bigger than the females, and this is very obvious with these two... Whitstable is a big lad! They are both last years kits, and we are hopeful they will becoming a breeding pair for us here to continue the work we help with in breeding polecats.

Buster Update

Most of you will know we had an otter cub born here at the end of last year which we named Buster. Buster was the only cub in the litter, when usually otters would have two or three. Being the only cub means he has had all the attention from mum, and this shows in the rate at which he is growing and building in confidence.

Buster is often the first one out for talks these days, and is very quickly catching up in size with his mum, Emmy. he is still obviously the cub though... appearing a little chubbier, and still very much a cub like face.

I think he is going to be a big otter, and take after his dad Elwood! He is already taking after his older brother Franklin. After most talks, you can usually see Buster and Elwood having a fun ten minutes chasing each other around the enclosure, and playing in the water... just as Elwood used to with Franklin. Definitely worth hanging around after the talks for a chance to see that!

Once Buster is old enough, around the end of this year, he will be separated from his parents and re-homed at another collection.

Adder Update

I had made a note to give you a brief update eon our adders tomorrow, but excitedly ran back to my office to do it today as I have just seen one of our female adders out for the first time this year!

We have two females and three males. The males always emerge a couple of weeks before the females do, and I have seen all three. They all look in really good health, great news of course. Today I have seen the larger of the two females, again looking very healthy, and so I imagine the other female will be spotted over the coming days.

The three males have begun their first shedding process since leaving hibernation. Their skin goes very dull and almost with a grey sheen, and their eyes cloud over making them rely on their other senses for a few days. I would imagine they would have shed by the weekend, and will be looking at their best... a time I always look forward to as that is when you can get some really stunning photos of them.

Then of course the real fun begins... It will only be a couple more weeks and I would expect the females to shed and then the "dancing" will begin! Looking up the dates from last year, it was the second week of April when they seemed to display this behaviour regularly, but of course it could be anytime... but I will let you know as soon as it starts, and try and share some pictures with you.