A solitary male stoat has dodged a £150,000 manhunt as the invasive predator manages to evade capture for five months.
Located somewhere on the Orkney island of Rousay, the animal was first spotted on camera in April on the small island roughly two miles from the mainland.
Since May, authorities have fought hard to entrap the mammal, with 229 traps and 59 AI-equipped cameras have been set up across Rousay.
Officials have also enlisted assistance from trained detection dogs to track the predator through its droppings.
Yet the stoat remains free, putting internationally significant nesting colonies of curlews, lapwings and oystercatchers at risk.
The stoat also endangers the Orkney vole, a species found nowhere else in the world.
This small mammal is the primary prey for hen harriers and short-eared owls, both rare birds that depend on the archipelago's 70 islands.
A decline in vole numbers caused by stoat predation could therefore have devastating knock-on effects for these raptors.
Rousay had previously been considered free of the non-native predator.
The island hosts bird nesting sites of international importance, making the presence of even a single stoat a serious conservation concern.
The additional £150,000 was splashed on the extensive search to hire a dedicated trapper, an extra staff member, and the necessary vehicles and equipment.
The Orkney Native Wildlife Project, a £15million collaboration between RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council, has led the campaign to rid the islands of stoats since 2019.
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So far, the project has killed 9,039 stoats — the largest eradication of the species ever undertaken anywhere in the world.
Until recently, stoats had been limited to the Orkney mainland and southern islands connected by the Churchill Barriers.
The ONWP earlier this year called the stoat's appearance on Rousay "desperately disappointing" but noted the island lies within swimming distance of the mainland.
It is also possible the animal was accidentally brought over or illegally released.
Stoats are not indigenous to the Northern Isles and were first detected in Orkney in 2010.
They may have arrived hidden in a hay shipment transported by ferry, or been deliberately introduced to manage the local rabbit population.
A spokesman for the ONWP said: "This was a short-term solution to ensure that Rousay was responded to in the most appropriate way."
The most recent confirmed sighting of the elusive animal was on September 6.
Members of the public have been urged to report any sightings to help the project track down the the elusive stoat.
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