Terrestrial Life Finalist: The Stoat’s Game
The Stoat’s Game By Jose Grandío
Photographer Jose Grandío captured this stoat mid-air in the French Alps. The animal emerged from its burrow and “leapt and danced for about a half an hour before returning to his den for the rest of the day,” wrote bioGraphic cofounder and science journalist Stephanie Stone, in a description of the picture.
Stoats and other weasels commonly jump, dart, and wiggle in complicated behavioral displays. Scientists aren’t sure exactly why the critters do this, but one common hypothesis is that the movements help them to confuse and capture prey or dissuade predators. Researchers have also classified the frenetic behavior as a form of play, especially in domestic ferrets kept as pets.
In the instance of this photo, Grandío told Stone that there weren’t any other animals around. He interpreted the stoat’s movements as “something like a game for him.”
