Rough and Tumble

I went to my local nature reserve on a particularly dull and damp morning in July with the intention of photographing Barn Owls when I saw some movement in the grass in front of me. I quickly lowered my tripod and moved in for a closer look and was delighted to discover it was a female Stoat play fighting with two of its offspring. It wasn’t long before one of the young Stoats ran off to explore further afield leaving the mother and its slightly smaller sibling to continue plat fighting. The young Stoat was clearly being put through its paces to prepare it for hunting its own food. The action was frantic as the Stoats wrestled with each other, leaping and pouncing in a breathtaking performance of speed and agility. The unpredictable and erratic nature of their rough and tumble made capturing a decent image very challenging. As the weather was poor there was no one else on the reserve and I was able to enjoy a private show of this amazing spectacle for 45 minutes until eventually they retired into the grass for a well-deserved rest. This image is the best of the action shots with the young Stoat on the left attacking its mother with its razor-sharp teeth on display.