Few Irish stoat sightings in Mayo despite suitable habitats

A recent review of data found that areas in Mayo County yielded few stoat records despite appearing to have suitable habitats. These areas include the Belmullet, Achill Island and the west of Ballina. If you have seen an Irish stoat, alive or dead, in these areas or anywhere else in Ireland, the Vincent Wildlife Trust asks you to submit your sightings via the National Biodiversity Data Centre website:

https://biodiversityireland.ie/surveys/irish-stoat-survey/

About the Irish Stoat

The Irish stoat is a subspecies only found on the islands of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Fossil bones of the animal have been found in two caves in County Cork, with one set dating back between 27,000 and 35,000 years and a second set around 10,680 years ago. This means stoats were here before and after the last Ice Age, making them one of our oldest mammal inhabitants.

Stoats are often confused with other small mustelids in Ireland, including ferrets, American mink and the pine marten. Although similar in some ways, stoats are ‘stoatally’ different in others. All four species share the same long, thin body shape and short legs, but stoats differ in their much smaller size (far smaller than a cat), chestnut brown coat with creamy white bib and underside, and the very distinctive black tip to their tail.

About the Survey

The Irish stoat is elusive and one of our lesser-known mammals. They are notoriously hard to monitor, being small, fast and very camera-shy. They leave few field signs such as footprints, fur and obvious scats (carnivore poo), unlike their mustelid relatives, the otter, badger and pine marten. This has led to the species being under-studied. Through the Irish Stoat Citizen Science Survey, launched in February 2023 and will run till the end of January 2025, and with the help of citizen scientists sending in their sightings, we hope to learn more about these animals.

This survey is a partnership project between the National Biodiversity Data Centre, the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, and the University of Galway. We are grateful to our funders—the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Irish Environmental Network, and the Heritage Council—for their support of this and other aspects of our work on Irish mammals.