Roughly 10 miles off the Northern coast of Scotland, Orkney is an archipelago made up of 70 different islands, 20 of which are inhabited by humans. Home to a wide variety of native species, the Orkney islands haven’t been immune to the threat of invasive species, having endured a wave of non-native stoat invaders since 2010. Though there are major differences between ferrets, stoats, and weasels, these small fluffy creatures actually belong to the same family as weasels, ferrets, badgers, and otters, and while undeniably cute, are also a major threat to the native wildlife of Orkney.
The Orkney Native Wildlife Project was set up in response to the arrival of stoats in Orkney in an attempt to protect the islands’ diverse array of native wildlife. But doing so was a considerable task. As the project’s official website explains, stoats are not only fast and agile, they can take down prey much larger than themselves, often killing more than they need to in order to store food for a later date. What’s more, these omnivorous predators don’t discriminate when it comes to prey, eating everything from eggs and chicks to insects and even small animals such as mice, rabbits, hedgehogs, and fish. As with many invasive species, the stoats faced no natural predators on Orkney.
Thankfully, the Orkney Native Wildlife Project has had a huge impact on the numbers of stoats on the islands. Using a network of more than 8,000 “lethal humane trap boxes” and professional trappers, along with what the project claims are Europe’s first stoat detection dogs, the project has removed more than 6,000 stoats from Orkney since 2019. This has resulted in a surge of nesting success for native species, including curlews, oystercatchers, and the hen harrier.
Though efforts are ongoing, the organizers are now gearing up for what they call “the final phase of the eradication,” which will see them use targeted trappings based on sightings and dog detections. This requires another crucial part of the project to remain in place: volunteer work. Organizers have relied on members of the public reporting stoat sightings in order to make their impressive progress, and that aspect will be key to fully eradicating stoats from Orkney.
