Weasel in the Woodpile

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Despite the many similarities shared by all weasels, each of the three North American species has its own physical and behavioral distinctions.

Least weasels(Mustela nivalis), also known as common or pygmy weasels, have been aptly called "cigar sized," with adults measuring 5.2 inches to a little over 13 inches long (of which about a quarter is tail) and weighing as little as 25 grams (less than an ounce). In addition to being the smallest member of the weasel family, M. nivalis also has the distinction of being the smallest carnivore in the world. (A member of this tiny species could, in fact, squeeze through a wedding ring . . . providing the ring belonged to someone with a finger diameter of an inch or so.)

In summer, this littlest hunter's fur is reddish brown across the back and sides, with a white underbelly. The least weasel keeps this two-toned coloration year-round in the portions of its range that receive only spo radic snowfall (though often fading to a lighter shade), but molts to white for winter in colder climes. The most reliable field identification feature of the least weasel is lack of the black-tipped tail of both other species.

Short-tailed weasels ( M. erminea) are commonly known as ermines during their allwhite winter phase, and as stoats in their darker summer pelage. Lagomorphs are their favored foods. This species has a reputation for playfulness, and—when not hunting or holed up in its burrow-is known to gather in groups to frolic in the sunshine. (Perhaps this was the temerarious species met by my photographer friend.)

The short-tailed weasel's summer coat is reddish brown above, with yellowish underparts and a black-tipped tail. In winter throughout its range-except for a strip along the Pacific coast from British Columbia southward—the short-tail turns pure white, save the tip of its tail, which stays black. An adult short-tail will measure 7.5 inches to 13.4 inches nose to tip of tail, and, as you might expect, has a shorter tail relative to its overall length than the other two species.

Long-tailed weasels(M. frenata), besides being the most plentiful and wide-ranging, are also the largest of the three North American species, with adults weighing 2.9 to 6.9 ounces and measuring 8.9 to 10.2 inches head and body, plus a generous 4 to 5.9 inches of tail for a total length of 13 to 16 inches or so.

Northern long-tails turn white in winter (save for their ink-tipped tails), while the various southern subspecies merely fade to lighter shades of brown. Quite the athlete, the long-tail may jump six feet straight up and take prey 10 times its own size. It has even attacked humans when sufficiently provoked.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print