Snow-crazed stoat 'goes berserk'

Strange animals, stoats.

Reminds me of an evening over 20 years ago when my cat, Pobbs, must have happened on a sleeping or inebriated stoat and persuaded it to come back home with her, inviting it into the house and asking it if it would like to make its way into the living room. The first that I knew about this was catching sight of something moving swiftly across the floor as I watched telly whilst having my tea. I was uncouth then and things haven't altered much since. Anyhow, Robyn, who must have been about 3 at the time, was also having her tea and watching the telly with me. We looked at each other, in silence, but clearly both thinking, 'Did you see what I think I saw?'

I was tempted to finish my food and pretend it was merely the after-effects of the chemicals I'd been using in the lab. earlier in the day. Couldn't let it rest though, so I had to go crawling around the floor looking under furniture. Assuming that I was looking for a mouse, I became a little concerned when I saw eyes clearly belonging to something more substantial peering at me from beneath the chair.

2 hours later, supporting thick gauntlets and my weapon of choice - the burger-cooking-thing you use on the BBQ - and with Robyn kindly being looked after by the next door neighbour, I was still chasing the bloody thing around the room trying to catch it. Pobbs, of course, was not remotely interested in continuing to build any sort of friendship with the stoat and had retired to bed. Eventually, I had to resort to desperate measures - it was either me or *it* and I was fading fast. It was too stupid to allow me to escort it to the back door and bid it farewell [see BBC linked clip above in support of my dismissive view of the mental capacities of stoats] and so it became personal and there was only ever going to be one winner. At the end, I don't know who was more exhausted, the stoat or me.

So...Glynn 1 : Stoat Population -1

Strange animals, stoats.