Mustelids are an often misunderstood group of mammals yet they are charismatic, adaptable and have lived alongside humans for millennia.
Their secretive behaviour makes them difficult to monitor and it sometimes takes a community effort to find them. They are a key component of the ecosystems they live in and their presence can be a good sign that smaller prey species numbers are high in an area, as well as being an indicator of the overall health of an ecosystem.
From woodlands to hedgerows and rocky crags to urban gardens, the six native mustelids to the UK could almost be found anywhere, but trying to find them can be a challenge and time consuming.
In this session, Stuart Edmunds will introduce the members of the mustelid family found in the UK - weasels, stoats, polecats, pine martens, badgers and otters (with a brief look at the invasive American Mink), their ecology and behaviour.
The session will also offer advice and experiences of setting up and coordinating mustelid projects, by utilising public interest and existing community groups.
Stuart Edmunds is a self employed wildlife conservation specialist with a particular interest in carnivores. In 2009, he set up Shropshire Pine Marten Project with the intention of verifying or rejecting historic records of the mammal in the county. The project successfully recorded pine martens in 2015 and has been conducting further surveys across Shropshire ever since.He has been chairman of Shropshire Mammal Group since 2013 and has worked for Natural England, The National Trust and Shropshire Wildlife Trust while running independent training on wildlife tracking and monitoring for universities and ecology consultancies. He was awarded a conservation award by International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2019.
Entry level: This event can be attended by people who have little to no pre-existing knowledge of the topic and wish to develop an initial understanding.
Accessibility:
We are committed to ensuring the accessibility of our training courses. If you require accommodations or have any accessibility concerns, please contact Fiona (training@themammalsociety.org) in advance, and we will be happy to assist you.
For booking terms and conditions click here.
*Please note - If not enough delegates book on to this course it may be postponed with two weeks notice, this is because we are a small charity and need to make sure our events are viable.
