The way in which stoats get together to mate is brutal. Males will literally rape kits inside the nest. My studies are based on five years of watching a family of stoats in my garden.
Male stoats will mate with kits
Shortly after a female has given birth she becomes receptive to mating. Males are also known to mate female kits in the nest, even when these youngsters are still blind and helpless.
Delayed implantation
This extraordinary behaviour may seem unpalatable to us, but female stoats are able to delay implantation of their eggs which means the kits leave the nest ready to give birth the following year.
The adult female also delays implantation, meaning that a male stoat that mates with both mother and kits ensures that his line continues well into the next breeding season.
