Short Tail Weasel

Mustela erminea

By Hannah

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Mustela
Species: erminea

Physical Description

Weasels are a yellow brown color, but they turn white in the winter to blend in with the snow and ice of the tundra. They have very big ears and, of course, a short tail. The tail is the same color as the body and is about 3 inches long with a black tip. The belly of the short tail weasel is always white, but is more yellow in the summer and autumn months. It has big black eyes and a black nose. On its face are sensory whiskers that they use to sense movement when catching prey and sharp claws to kill. Its legs are very short, roughly a quarter of the length of its long slender body. They can weigh up to 7 ounces. Males are generally larger then females.

Diet and Feeding Habits

Their diet consists of mice, squirrels, rabbits, hares, small birds, insects, berries and carrion. Carrion is dead animals like road kill and other dead animal carcasses.

Reproduction

Weasels are generally intolerant of other weasels in the area. But, once a year, in mating season, the come together and mate. They are very promiscuous. They will mate with many different partners. Copulation is often forced by the male who does not take part in raising the young. There are usually several baby weasels per litter and gestation is 11 months, among the longest of all mammals.

Habitat

Weasels live in the Arctic Tundra in North America and Europe. In Maine, they live in the deciduous forests. They nest in several dens and rest spots that they take over from their prey after they have killed it. They also line the dens with the fur of their prey to keep warm in cold climates.

Role in the Ecosystem

Weasels, also known as ermine, are small carnivorous mammals. They prey upon mice, squirrels, rabbits, hares, small birds, insects, berries and carrion. They are preyed upon by mink, hawks, owls and other species of weasel.

Bibliography

Col, Jeananda. Enchanted Learning. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/weasel/emineprintout.shtml 1999.

Montana Trappers. http://www.montanatrappers.org/furbearers/short-tail-weasel.htm 2007.

Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoat 2007.

The Mammal Society. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/weasel.shtml 2005.

Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.
all dictionary definitions found at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse 2007.