Weasels are small animals that are can be found almost all over the world except in Africa.
Let’s find out more about the weasel!
- Weasels are mammals.
- Weasels are usually brown, grey or black with white or yellowish markings
- They belong to the genus Mustela of the family Mustelidae.
- The genus Mustela includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and mink.
- Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs.
- The family Mustelidae, or mustelids (which also includes badgers, otters, and wolverines), is often referred to as the “weasel family”.
- In the UK, the term “weasel” usually refers to the smallest species, the least weasel (M. nivalis), the smallest carnivoran species.
- Weasels vary in length from 173 to 217 mm .
- Females are smaller than the males.
- Usually they have red or brown upper coats and white bellies.
- Some populations of some species moult to a wholly white coat in winter.
- They have long, slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails may be from 34 to 52 mm (1+1⁄4 to 2 in) long.
- Weasels feed on small mammals and have from time to time been considered vermin because some species took poultry from farms or rabbits from commercial warrens.
- They do, on the other hand, eat large numbers of rodents.
- They can be found all across the world except for Africa (outside Egypt), the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Australia, the Caribbean, Antarctica, and the neighbouring islands.
- The most common weasel is the short-tailed weasel.
- It can be found in North America, Europe and Asia, in regions as far north as the Arctic.
- Their homes include marshes, scrubs, hedgerows, alpine meadows, riparian woodlands and riverbank habitats, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
- Weasels’ diets usually consist of rats, mice, voles and rabbits.
- Frogs, birds and bird eggs are also on the menu, from time to time.
- Their small, thin bodies allow them to squeeze into tight spots to reach small prey.
- Most weasels are listed as least concern by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
- There are a few exceptions. The mountain weasel and Japanese weasel are listed as near threatened because their population has had a significant decline.
- The Colombian weasel is listed as vulnerable because of “a continuing decline in population due to ongoing deforestation”.
- It has estimated population of around 1,300 mature adults.
- In New Zealand, the weasel is considered an invasive species and a threat to native wildlife.
- The country plans to eradicate them by 2050, according to a 2016 Live Science article
- To kill its prey, a weasel will clamp down on the prey’s neck and keep biting until the animal is dead.
- Weasels stay warm by lowering their metabolism and curling into balls inside their burrows.
- Before killing prey, weasels will bob back and forth and hop in a dance meant to intimidate the other animal.
Got anything to add?