Are there polecats in Troserch Woods?

This poor chap met his end on the M4 just on the Swansea side of the Loughor river. It's home wasn't in our woods but he was close, and it would seem that polecats are on the increase in Wales. The relative seclusion of Troserch Woods would be an ideal place for them and we would be very interested if anyone has seen any evidence of polecats (usually roadkill) within the locality. The Vincent Wildlife Trust are also very keen for any polecat records from west Wales.

Mink and otter have been seen on a few occasions in the woods but around 10 years ago I saw a mother and kit of some sort of animal scurrying along the riverbank. It didn't quite seem like a mink, especially the colouring, and was obviously smaller than an otter. It was suggested at the time that it could have been a polecat and now having seen the poor guy on the M4 in real life, so to speak, I would say it was. Dr Dan Foreman from Swansea University came looking during a survey in 2007 and believed he found polecat tracks. But a maybe doesn't really count and it would be nice in some way to add a definite polecat to our list of woodland residents in the near future.

A leaflet on polecats is available here.