MAMMALS when he was a boy. The Rev. E. N. Bloomficid has information of another said to have been seen at Ecclesbourne near Hastings about sixteen years ago. There is h'ttle doubt that the polecat has been extinct for many years in Sussex, most of those now figuring in the naturalist's shop being escaped tame ones. ig. Stoat. Putorius ermineus, Linn. BeW—Musu/a ermwea. Common and generally distributed. Ex- amples in the perfect winter dress are rarely met with, there being almost always some of the ordinary colour remaining about the head ; but every year individuals are trapped which have partially assumed the winter pelage. One day whilst sitting under a tree in Denne Park, Horsham, Mr. Millais observed a large stoat emerge from a small rabbit warren close at hand. There were about fifty rabbits round about and none of these betrayed the slightest alarm at the presence of the stoat. After running about for a few minutes the stoat made a rush at a young rabbit and knocked it over as if in play, and then commenced maul- ing it about the neck and pretending to worry it. The rabbit meanwhile crouched down and evidently was not very frightened, as it commenced feeding again as soon as its per- secutor left it. The stoat then went up to two other rabbits and repeated the same per- formance, every movement of which could be distinctly seen through a powerful telescope. It was then apparently satisfied, and retired to one of the holes, into which it presently disappeared. There is not the least doubt that this cunning fellow was making his home amongst the rabbits on whose young he lived, and that this daily play was prac- tised so as to accustom his nervous neigh- bours to the presence of the murderer. 20. Weasel. Putoriui nivalis, Linn. Bell — Mustela vulgaris. Common and generally distributed. On more than one occasion individuals have been caught on the sea-front at St. Leonards. It is a pity that gamekeepers are so relentless in their persecution of this graceful little animal. The damage it does to game is more than outweighed by its services in keeping down the numbers of voles and rats which un- questionably constitute its chief prey. The tenacity with which the weasel will stick to its prey is remarkable. Recently when shoot- ing with Mr. Fletcher at Dale Park, Arundel, we saw a weasel chase and seize a half-grown rat on the side of a steep down. The pur- suer had not a very good hold, so that the victim could make some resistance, and both came rolling down the hill, a distance of nearly a hundred yards, and landed almost at our feet without separating. 21. Badger. Meles meles, Linn. Bell — Meles taxus. The badger is by no means uncommon in east Sussex, and at present there is little danger of any serious diminution, as in many parts the animal is protected. There are at the present time colonies of greater or less extent at the following places, viz. Ashburnham, Battle, Beauport, Catsfield, Crowhurst Park, Fairlight, Guestling (Broomham Park), Hol- lington, Pett, Sedlcscombe, Udimore, West- field, Winchelsea (Wickham Cliff). Sir Archibald Lamb, Bart., of Beauport writes that some time since a terrier belong- ing to Colonel Lamb went to ground after the badgers and had to be dug out. During the operation a litter of recently-born badgers was disturbed, and Colonel Lamb is certain that there were six, if not seven, in the litter. In 1893 — a great wasp year — the badgers at Beauport devoured between thirty and forty wasp nests during two ensuing nights. Mr. George Bristow, jun., to whom we are in- debted for many particulars of Sussex mam- mals, has weighed several badgers which have scaled over 30 lb. In west Sussex the badger continues to hold its own in nearly all the heavily wooded districts, and we know of one protected spot within three miles of Brighton where they are always to be found. In a wood with which we are acquainted foxes and badgers have made earths together, and have lived for some years in comparative harmony. Occasionally however there are squabbles, and when these occur the latter invariably get the best of it, young foxes having been found dead at the mouth of the badger hole. 22. Otter. Lutra Intra, Linn. Bell — Lutra vulgaris. Otters have been met with in most of the larger streams of the eastern part of the county. Specimens have been killed at Rye, Pett, Brede, Ninfield, Sedlescombe, Ashburn- ham and Pevensey. In the west there are always a few resident on the Adur and the Arun, whilst a season seldom passes without individuals being seen or their tracks noted on the lakes in St. Leonards Forest. The ponds at Knepp Castle and Burton Park are other favourite places, and in 1891 a pair of otters stayed the whole season at Warnham Pond and successfully reared a litter there. 303
