Stoat

Mustela erminea

Appearance

•   24-40 m in length including the tail.
•   They are brown back and pale belly with a bushy, black-tipped tail.
•   Males much larger than the females.

Lifecycle

•  Stoats breed once a year, producing 6 -13 younglings per litter.
•  In the wild, females mate between September and November and are pregnant for 8-11 months.

Habits

•  Widely distributed throughout, they can be found from beaches to remote high-country at most altitudes.
•  They prefer native or exotic forested areas, scrub, dunes and tussock.
•  Stoats are very agile climbers and are having a devastating effect on adult and young birds, and their eggs.