MAMMALS one was trapped, but managed to escape, al- though it left a foot in the trap. At Meynell Langley none have been observed since 1861. 16. Common Stoat. Putorius ermineus (Linn.). Bell Mustela erminea. Still pretty generally distributed over the greater part of the county, in spite of unre- mitting persecution from game preservers. It is perhaps rather more common in the wooded parts, and comparatively rarely seen in the bleak uplands. Mr. E. Brown says that in the Burton district they have been known to hunt the hare in concert, following on the track until the animal has been run down. Individuals in the yellowish white pelage of winter are not uncommon in some seasons. 17. Weasel. Putorius nivalis (Linn.). Bell Mustela vulgaris. Generally distributed and common in all parts of Derbyshire, where it is of great service in keeping down the numbers of mice and voles. The many walls built of loose stones without mortar furnish secure retreats for this species from which it can only be dislodged with difficulty. Occasionally the weasel will take to the water, and an instance is on record of one swimming across the Trent in pursuit of a rat (Nat. Hist, of Tut- bury, p. 87). 1 8. Badger. Meles meles (Linn.). Bell Meles taxus. Formerly a common resident in our wood- lands, and even now a good many pairs exist in different parts of the county. The sur- vival of this interesting species may be attri- buted partly to its nocturnal habits, which often cause its presence to be unsuspected, and partly to a measure of protection which it receives in several places, although by no means generally. Sir O. Mosley, writing in 1863, says that the badger still existed, 'although it is every year becoming more scarce,' and Mr. E. Brown writes even more strongly, ' Fast becoming extinct, although 20 years ago it was found in most of the woods about here.' At the present time colonies exist close to the town of Derby, and specimens have been killed near the racecourse. The Kedleston district has long been a noted haunt of this species, and there are earths at Alderwasley, Allestree, Hopwell Hall, West Hallam and many other places. A few are found in the north : Mr. Storrs Fox notes a freshly used earth on Curbar Edge in 1895 and saw a badger which had been caught by a keeper not far from Bakewell in 1891, and they are occasionally trapped in Lathkill Dale. In the Dove valley they are not common, but stray individuals are sometimes trapped and one or two earths are known. The amount of earth which badgers re- move when excavating is extraordinary. I visited one colony last July consisting of several earths at the edge of a small wood. In the adjoining field were three great mounds of excavated soil which were esti- mated to contain eight or nine cartloads. About eighteen months or two years pre- viously all the earth thrown out (amounting to four loads) had been removed and the ground levelled, so that all this mass had accumulated since that time. 19. Otter. Lutra lutra (Linn.). Bell Lutra vulgaris. Probably the otter exists in rather larger numbers in the Dove valley at the present time than for many years past. This is owing to the protection extended to it by one or two riparian owners on the river Dove and a certain amount of toleration or indiffer- ence on the part of others. References to the otter occur as far back as 1773 in the shooting diary of the Rev. Frances Gisborne of Staveley. On February i the rector shot a dog otter weighing about I4lb., and three years later he mentions having ' shot at a large otter at 1 1 yds. dis- tant (with No. i) upon the water' (Journ. Derb. Arch, and Nat. Hist. Soc. 1892, pp. 197, 206). Glover (1829) describes them as frequently found in the Trent, the Derwent and the smaller rivers communi- cating with them. By 1863 its numbers had been much diminished in south Derbyshire, but it was still occasionally found in the Dove and Trent, according to Mr. E. Brown. Sir O. Mosley describes how a relative of his, while duck-shooting on the Dove, started two otters, which plunged into the water from the trees where they were lying. Both were shot : one was successfully brought to land, but the other was carried down stream and lost. It is however on the Dove that otters have increased in numbers so much of late. One was killed in 1898 by a keeper on the Norbury water, but none have been touched there since. Now they are so numerous that as many as eight have been seen by the keeper in one day. In December 1898 two young otters were captured by a labourer 155
