Rat chasing Stoat

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Mark
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Love it, you really have caught the action nicely
 
Excellent timing, you will probably never have that opportunity again.
 
Nice shots...
But why would a rat chase a stoat.
I would put money on the stoat in a fight.
 
Ha ha - look at him go.

Nice shots...
But why would a rat chase a stoat.
I would put money on the stoat in a fight.

If you google stoat v rat or weasel v rat - there's plenty of wildlife footage of fights to the death.

Not what everybody would like to see but it's nature.

Seems the rat tends to loose once the weasel or stoat get the grip on the neck - not unlike a cat.
 
Nice shots...
But why would a rat chase a stoat.
I would put money on the stoat in a fight.

My thinking too, I thought it would the Stoat chasing he Rat. :thinking:

My money would also be on the Stoat in a duel. :)

All that said, great action shots. :clap:

Dave
 
You have captured the rat very well, I don't remember ever having seen that before. I would have thought the stoat would see off a rat, they are the same family as the Honey Badger and share their ferocity if not their size.

It reminds me, I looked out of my window the other morning and saw a hedgehog fighting with a squirrel. After a while it looked like it might have been a draw but the hedgehog went on to win on points! :cool:
 
I saw a hedgehog against a pine marten....The hedgehog won that one too
 
the bugger, the rat I mean - get your gun

Really good shots ……….
 
Remarkable shots! I'd back the stoat too, but a rat - particularly a buck - can be a formidable animal and a lot of predators instinctively try to avoid a major battle because they can get badly injured, even if they win, which can impair their hunting ability.

The Honey Badger (Ratel) seems to be a law unto itself. They're fearless, incredibly tough and tenacious, and I've seen film of one pushing lion off a carcass.
 
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Every shot are very beautiful.
Try to shoot also when the little fellow is coming toward or facing the camera.
 
Great shots and timing. Were you hoping for these shots or were you just in the right place at the right time?
 
We often use the car as a hide, so with the camera on the wife's lap and eye's peeled
we spotted the stoat up the road and drove slowly towards it, but it still dived into the
hedgerow. So I jumped out the car stood at the rear with camera on my monopod and
waited. Sure enough it came back out, got some shot's then disappeared.
I think it must of gone down a rat's nest because out it came being chased by the rat,
it all happened in a flash so just shows it pays to be ready.
 
Rats will often colonise old rabbit warrens, and of course stoats often visit these warrens in the hope of an easy meal in the shape of baby rabbits. Hence the chase I reckon!
Nicely captured.
 
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