Survival of femur fractures in wild stoats (Mustela erminea)

Stoats (Mustela erminea) are active hunters and, therefore, one might predict that any broken bones or other injuries impeding active movement would incur a serious risk of starvation. Dead stoats (n = 560) were collected from trappers operating predator control lines in three conservation areas of New Zealand from 1972–1978. Femurs were cleaned and examined for healed injuries and deformities. Five femurs from four stoats (one with both femurs injured) showed traumatic distortions following healing of complete breaks incurred during life. A further case recorded during post-eradication monitoring in 2010 on Rangitoto, an offshore island, is added. These data provide evidence that wild stoats have a remarkable capacity to tolerate catastrophic femur fractures. They can survive long enough, despite the implied limitation to their energetic hunting style, to permit full healing even though the result is a gross distortion of the femoral shaft.

THE PROPOSAL FOR MONITORING OF STOAT MUSTELA ERMINEA (LINNAEUS, 1758) ON THE EXAMPLE OF POLAND

The ability to monitor species distribution and abundance is essential to detect changes in animal population and implement conservation management programs which can prevent further deterioration of the species’ situation and help assess the progress of these programs. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small, extremely difficult to catch, predatory mammal which is under partial species protection in Poland. However, at the moment there are no deliberate actions conducted to protect it, and the strategy for the stoat monitoring has not been developed yet. This is directly related to various components, among which is the difficulty to develop an effective non-invasive method for capturing and identifying a stoat individual. The current state of knowledge regarding the distribution and abundance of the species in Poland is largely based on the observations reported to the coordinator, references in the literature, and photographs available on the Internet. The data, however, has not been confirmed by reliable field studies aimed to assess the current situation of this predator in Poland. This clearly indicates the need to deepen the knowledge about the distribution and abundance of the stoat in this country by starting the monitoring of the species. In this article, the first attempt was made to define the methodology needed to conduct it, which may be the base for further modification and refinement as new data is collected. A detailed description of the adopted methodology has been developed on the basis of methods successfully used in research on mustelids in other countries.

NEW OBSERVATIONS OF STOAT (Mustela erminea L.) IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

UDK: 599.742.4(497.6) The Stoat occupies a wide range of habitats. It is often found in successional or forest-edge habitats, in the scrub, alpine meadows, marshes, riparian woodlands, hedgerows, and riverbanks that have high densities of small mammals, especially Microtus and Arvicola voles (KİNG, 1983). PULLİAİNEN, (1999) stated that coniferous and mixed woodlands are preferred, but that many other habitats are used including tundra and the summits of fells and mountains. Dense forests and deserts are avoided (KİNG, 1983). Although mentioned in all to-day's Laws on Hunting (1893 – 2014) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, there are not so many records of this species or official reports in hunting bag. Considering its geographic range (IUCN 2020), in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the stoat is recorded only in the western and northern parts of the country. İn this paper, we presented new localities where the stoat was observed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as types of habitats where it was recorded.

HELMINTHOFAUNA OF THE ERMINE (MUSTELA ERMINEA)

The purpose of the work was to study the helminth fauna of the ermine on the territory of the Ryazan region. We studied 19 ermine heads, Mustela erminea, aged from 1 to 3 years, using the method of complete helminthological dissection. The material for the study (animal carcass) was removed from the “Shilovskoye” hunting ground of the Ryazan Regional Society of Hunters and Fishermen in the floodplain of the Oka, Pary and Ibreda rivers. Animals were harvested under one-time licenses using cup traps No. 0, 1 and live traps for small predatory animals. The period of production of the beast was 2013–2018 from October to March. The carcasses of animals were delivered to the laboratory in a chilled or frozen state. The collected worms were fixed in ethanol (70% solution) or Barbagallo liquids. Determination of the helminthological material to the species was carried out according to the determinant of helminths of predatory mammals of the USSR. As a result of research, 6 types of helminths of 3 systematic classes were identified in the ermine: 2 types of trematodes, 3 types of nematodes and one type of scrapers. Two species of trematodes were identified – Euparyphium melis and Alaria spp. larvae in the small intestine and muscle tissue (diaphragm, masseter). Among the nematodes, 3 species are represented – Capillaria putorii, Skrjabingylus petrowi and large larvae Larvae migrans spp. (3.5–4.5 mm). Round helminths were localized in the small intestine, frontal sinuses and muscle tissue (diaphragm). Macracanthorhynchus catulinus larvae were recorded in the muscles of the diaphragm, abdominal muscles and extensor and flexor muscles of the hind limbs. The animal can be both the ultimate owner of helminthiasis, and intermediate one.

Demodex melesinus (Acariformes: Demodecidae) – the forgotten European badger parasite, rediscovered after 100 years

Among 15 demodecid mite species (Acariformes: Demodecidae) recorded from carnivorans Carnivora, 3 species were described from mustelids Mustelidae. They are known only from single records, for which Demodex erminae has been described from the stoat Mustela erminea from Great Britain and New Zealand, D. melesinus from the European badger Meles meles known solely from Great Britain and D. lutrae discovered in the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra from Poland. The current record confirms the existence of D. melesinus, in badger from Poland, after close to one hundred years from its original description, as well as the first detection of the male for this species.