Polecat

The European polecat (Mustela putorius) is a dark, masked mustelid, ancestor of the domesticated ferret, historically found across most of Britain before sustained persecution by gamekeepers protecting game birds drove the species to the brink of British extinction by the early 20th century, surviving only in a small remnant population in the hills of central Wales.

A Name Born From a Taste for Poultry

The English name “polecat” likely derives from the French poule, meaning chicken, a reference to the species’ well-earned reputation for raiding henhouses, a habit that made it deeply unpopular with farmers for centuries and fed directly into the intensive persecution that nearly wiped the species out in Britain. Its alternative old name, “foumart”, from Middle English for “foul marten”, instead references the powerful, famously unpleasant scent the polecat can release from specialised glands when alarmed or threatened, a defensive trait shared with several other mustelids.

A Natural Recovery From a Welsh Stronghold

Since gaining full legal protection and benefiting from reduced gamekeeping persecution through the 20th century, polecats have expanded steadily outward from their last Welsh stronghold, recolonising much of England naturally over the past few decades without requiring the active reintroduction programmes used for species such as the pine marten. This unassisted recovery has made the polecat one of the more encouraging British mammal comeback stories, even though the species remains far less familiar to most people than higher-profile recovering predators like the pine marten or sea eagle.

Complicated by Domestic Ferrets

The polecat’s recovery has been complicated in places by hybridisation with escaped or released domestic ferrets, themselves descended from polecats domesticated more than two thousand years ago for hunting rabbits, since the two remain closely related enough to interbreed freely and produce fertile offspring. This has made genetically pure polecat populations harder to identify with certainty in some parts of Britain, an ongoing conservation and taxonomic challenge as the species continues its broader recovery across much of its former British range, including a small but growing presence on some islands and coastal areas it had been absent from for the better part of a century.

Where to see it on the islands

On Search Isle, the polecat is recorded on 8 islands. They are spread across Wales (4), Scotland (3) and Crown Dependencies (1).

The most records come from Isle of Man (Isle of Man, 109 records), Anglesey (North Coast, 37 records), Thorn Island (Pembrokeshire, 16 records) and Thorne Island (Pembrokeshire, 16 records). These counts reflect where people have looked as well as where the animal lives: busy islands, and those with bird observatories, have far more records than remote ones.

Through the year

The polecat can be seen all year round on the islands.

Other carnivores

The polecat is one of 9 carnivores on Search Isle, alongside American Mink, Eurasian Otter, European Badger, Pine Marten, Red Fox, Scottish Wildcat, Stoat and Weasel.