Mount Grace Priory stoats predict a cold winter.

19/12/2008 12:57:14 Stoats get their winter coats well ahead of schedule

December 2008. English Heritage has revealed that the ferret-sized creatures - who have made the 600 year-old monastery their home - are predicting a hard winter judging by an adult male whose fur is turning white ahead of schedule.

Normally brown in colour on top and white underneath, stoats may turn completely white during the colder months to improve their camouflage against predators like owls and hawks when there's snow on the ground. But it's a hit and miss affair and certainly rare for one of Mount Grace's resident population to begin the transformation before Christmas.

English Heritage Custodian Becky Wright, who is also a member of the Mammal Society, said: "Some of the stoats went white after the last New Year and stayed that way for much longer than we'd expected. Then we had a snowy Easter, showing that they have a sixth sense about these things. On that basis, the stoats could be offering a sign that we may need to wrap up warm for quite a few more months. Perhaps they know a white Christmas is on the cards."

Ermine
The stoat's winter coat is called ermine (also a winter name for the animal itself), much beloved by kings and nobles who wore it on their robes to signify purity and high status. The colour change is controlled by a pituitary gland in the animal which reacts to temperature and day length. Although the head and body may go white, the tip of the tail remains black.

TV stars
Twelve years ago the priory's stoats became famous when they starred in a David Attenborough wildlife documentary. They also featured in the landmark Life of Mammals television series. Another camera crew has been back this year to make a new film about their antics amongst the ancient ruins, set to be broadcast next autumn.

Stoats
Stoats have long slender bodies and short legs. They feed mainly on small mammals, especially rabbits and water voles where these are abundant. Small rodents are also taken, supplemented by birds, eggs, fruit and even earthworms when food is scarce. Stoats don't like to be out in the open and so tend to hunt along ditches, hedgerows and walls, or through meadows and marshes. They search systematically, often running in a zigzag pattern. All but the largest prey is killed by a single bite to the back of the neck. At Mount Grace the stoats use the ancient drainage tunnels built by the monks to move around the site.

How to visit Mount Grace.