Mustelid populations in Britain are in a period of change – some for better, others for worse. In order to help monitor these shifting distributions, David Wege and Dan Puplett outline the key features for identifying footprints of the five smaller British mustelid species, along with useful tricks for telling them from tracks of other mammals.
The small mustelids (Mustelidae, the weasel family) are a group of formidable and important predators, exciting from a wildlife-watching point of view and also variously significant from a conservation perspective. The group comprises five species (six including the Feral Ferret Mustela furo) which range in size from the famous Pine Marten Martes martes down to the diminutive Weasel Mustela nivalis.