Short Tailed Weasel

Short Tailed Weasel

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1. The short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) is the second smallest member of the weasel family. Like the long tailed weasel and its other relatives, the short-tailed weasel, also known as the ermine, is a predator. The short-tailed weasel occupies a wider variety of habitats than the long-tailed weasel, which include wetlands, forests, and fields. It is trapped for its fur, but not avidly.

2. The ermine is also known as the short tailed weasel. Despite its small size, it is a ferocious carnivore. 

3. It has two color phases. In the winter months the short tailed weasel is white so that it can blend into its snowy environment. During the summer the ermine is brown in color. 

4. The tip of the ermine’s tail is always black. 

5. The ermine builds dens under rocks, stumps, and foundations of old buildings. It uses several dens, all of which are in close range of good hunting. The ermine is an excellent hunter of mice. This species is very aggressive, and it has been known to stand up to large species such as bears and bob cats.

6. An adult ermine is typically between seven and 10 inches in length.

7. Ermines are carnivores. They eat foods such as insects, small rodents, and birds. They sometimes even take chipmunks and red squirrels.

8. Like some other members of the weasel family, the ermine kills its prey with a piercing bite to the back of the neck.

9. If the male weasel wants to mate a female he grabs her by the neck and she might mate him immediately but if not the male drags her by the neck till she’s ready. Weasels have enormous appetites.

10. Weasels eat mainly mice, voles and shrews, but will probably kill and eat any other prey that they can master, including young rabbits, small birds and eggs.

11. The weasel’s small head and long, thin body makes it perfectly adapted for hunting its prey in their own burrows.  However, this also gives it a relatively high surface area to body weight ratio and thin layer of body fat, causing it to easily lose its body heat.  This is why weasels must eat very frequently and so are nearly always hunting fresh prey. 

12. The weasel moves across the ground in a series of short jumps and is also a good climber.  It frequently stops and stands upright, checking its surroundings.

13. Weasels prepare a nest for breeding which is lined with hay and moss and is often located in an old mouse or vole burrow.  The female normally raises one litter of between 3 and 6 kittens a year. The young are weaned after 4 to 5 weeks and become independent at 3-4 months. The young from the initial litter may breed in their first year. This means that they can rapidly respond to population explosions in prey such as voles by an increase in numbers.