Is this elusive creature seen near Wick weasily identifiable?
A local woman snapped the image of an elusive little creature near Old Wick Castle but was unsure what she saw "stoating about" on a dyke.
Artist Ewa Allan was walking with her husband Tom along with friends Malgosia and Marcin Szczepanski and their poodle, Ollie, when she had the chance encounter.
Tom said: "Ewa was lagging behind chatting to her mum in Poland on the phone and looking for inspiration for her next painting.
"She was completely taken by surprise when this thing popped up over the dyke. It stayed for a minute or two – as curious about Ewa as she was about it. She caught up with us at the Grey Bools with some photos of the wee fella – or lass, we couldn't tell – but she didn't want to spook it by approaching too closely."
The couple thought it may have been a pine marten but closer inspection of the image shows what appears to be a weasel or stoat. An old saying goes "weasels are weasily identified and stoats are stoatally different" and the significant detail lies in the tail. Stoats have a black tip on the tail and the animal in Ewa's pictures appears to have a plain brown tail with no blackening. The wee stoater appears to be a stoat but readers comments are welcome if they have other opinions.