Responses of stoats to scent lures in tracking tunnels

Abstract

Scent lures made from the anal sac secretions of stoats (Mustela ermined) in a long‐life formulation increased the number of visits by stoats to footprint tracking tunnels set near the shoreline of Lake Waikaremoana. Lures derived from female stoats received a similar number of visits to those derived from males. Blank lures with no active ingredient did not attract stoats. Most of the lures remained intact and active for about seven weeks in summer. Rodents were unaffected by the lures, being neither repelled by the scent of stoats, nor attracted to the edible casein‐based carrier compound. Our results suggest that scent lures could be useful for indexing stoat populations. Trials are needed to compare the effectiveness of lures and bait, and to determine seasonal changes in lure attractiveness. Problems of supply of the active ingredients will need to be overcome.

Keywords:

• stoat
• Mustela erminea
• rodents
• scent
• lure
• anal sac secretion
• attractiveness
• longevity
• abundance estimates
• tracking