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Orkney island's second recorded stoat trapped and killed

Getty Images The stoat has a cat-like face and copper coloured fur. It is peering from a gap between lichen-covered stones.Getty Images
Stoats are not native Orkney and are blamed for preying on voles and ground-nesting birds

A second stoat has been trapped and killed on Rousay in Orkney, just weeks after what was hoped to have been the island's only stoat was caught.

The mammals are not native to Orkney and prey on ground-nesting birds as well as a subspecies of vole that is not found anywhere else in the world.

Rousay's first-ever confirmed stoat was trapped on 9 October near Loch of Loomachun as part of a £15m project to eradicate the predator from across Orkney.

The second animal was spotted on a trail camera close to the same loch on Wednesday, before later being found in a nearby trap.

Conservationists said they could not be certain how the stoats arrived on Rousay.

However, they added that the animals were strong swimmers and may have crossed a narrow stretch of sea called Eynhallow Sound from mainland Orkney.

Orkney Native Wildlife Project (ONWP) said more than 9,100 stoats had been removed from the islands since 2019.

The initiative uses trail cameras, traps and dogs trained to sniff out stoats' poo.

Project manager Sarah Sankey said earlier that the sighting of a second stoat on Rousay was disappointing.

She said: "This is obviously a deeply concerning development, and it's especially unfortunate it has happened just weeks after the successful removal of the first invasive stoat from Rousay."

The project had previously said it was "increasingly confident" the first stoat caught was the only one on Rousay.

ONWP A black and white trail camera image showing the stoat. It is a small animal, with a long-body, rounded ears and a short tail.ONWP
ONWP The dog is a brown and white spaniel. It is sitting down on a hummock of grass and heather with a landscape of moorland and the sea in behind it.ONWP
Rousay's second confirmed stoat was spotted on a trail camera on Wednesday
A £15m project started in 2019 to eradicate stoats from Orkney uses specially trained dogs to sniff out stoat poo

Orkney is an important place for breeding birds, including curlews, red-throated divers, hen harriers and short-eared owls. 

It is also home to the Orkney vole, a subspecies found nowhere else. It is larger and heavier than the common vole.

Stoats, which are related to weasels and otters, are native to mainland Scotland and other parts of the UK.

They usually hunt rabbits and small rodents, such as mice.

Females can give birth to litters of six to 12 kits a year.