A cameratrap captured mating of a steppe polecat

Very little is known about the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii). And not only from our territory, but also abroad, there is a minimum of information about the ecology of this species. With the help of a camera trap located near a burrow in southern Moravia, it was possible to film the mating of these mysterious beasts. Although the polecat is mostly active at night, this time the pair were active during daylight hours, so the shots are colourful and provide a wonderful insight into the behaviour of this secretive mammal.

Steppe polecats live solitary lives, both males and females. Females come into oestrus at the end of March and oestrus lasts until successful mating. In the wild, steppe polecats have young only once a year.

Steppe polecats rest in burrows in the ground. During the two-month monitoring, the male and female were separately recorded several times at the observed burrow. It is not easy to recognize a male and a female steppe polecat. Both sexes are the same coloration. They differ in size, the females are smaller, which is very difficult to recognize in camera trap videos. However, both monitored individuals have a different face mask, by which it is possible to recognize them. In the first video, we present a female sitting in the entrance of the monitored burrow and watching the surroundings.

Morning comfort - female steppe polecat, 30 March 2024

The male has been caught several times intensively digging dirt out of the burrow and expanding it. The moat at the entrance was gradually increased and expanded.

Intensive improvement of the burrow by the male, 29 March 2024

The male inspects the area around the entrance to the burrow and carefully perceives all odors to find out as much as possible about the female. He will probably find out if the female is in the burrow and in which state of oestrus she is. He will also find out if someone else has tagged here, for example another competing male.

Olfactory inspection of the condition of the female - male steppe polecat 19 April 2024

Two hours before the mating, which we captured on the camera trap, the male was dragging dried vegetation into the burrow, which he collected from the vicinity of the entrance. We found no mention of this behaviour in the literature.

The male carries old vegetation into the burrow, 20 April 2024

The polecat mating itself lasted more than an hour and a half intermittently. It was taking place on the surface right in front of the entrance to the burrow. Typically for mustelids, the male bites the female’s neck, thereby stimulating ovulation among other things. Ovulation (the release of a mature egg from the ovary) in many carnivores is not spontaneous but triggered by the act of mating itself.

Polecat mating, 20/04/2024

In the last phase, the male guards at the entrance to the burrow so that the female does not go elsewhere and another male does not get to her. The female is in the burrow, and when she comes out of the burrow, the male grabs her by the neck, sometimes anywhere else, such as the tail, and drags her back into the burrow.

Guarding of a female by a male, 20 April 2024