(Mustela
nivalis)
CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom:
Animialia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Mustelinae
Genus: Mustela
Species: Mustela
nivalis
DESCRIPTION:
The
least weasel is long and slender with a flat narrow head and short limbs. It has
very large black eyes and round ears. Each foot has five fingers with long,
sharp claws. In the summer the weasel has a coat length of 1 cm. The back of the
weasel is light brown and the underside is white with brown spots. The winter
coat is about 1.5 cm in length and is completely white in the northern
populations, so they can blend in with the snow better. The winter coats in the
southern populations stay light brown in color, because they do not have to
blend in with the snow. The overall size of the least weasel depends on where it
is found. The species that is found in North America is the smallest and the
species that is found in northern Africa is the largest.
RANGE
AND HABITAT:
The
least weasel is found all over the world. It can be found in Europe, Japan,
Alaska, Asia, northern Africa, Canada, and North America. It can also be found
in the Neartic (excluding Ireland, Arabian Peninsula, and the Artic Isles).
The least weasel lives in a wide variety of habitats. It will live in
farmlands, semi-deserts, open forest, steppe, meadows, and prairies. They
typically do not live in deep forest or in sandy deserts. They are usually found
in the tundra, because they are well adapted for this biome.
DIET:
The
diet of the least weasel is mainly small rodents, but if the are scarce, the
weasel will eat bird eggs and nestlings. Their diet may also consist of insects,
small invertebrates, and lizards. In
extreme northern populations they may eat the carcasses of brown lemmings.
REPRODUCTION:
Most
breeding will occur in the spring and late summer, but in the species in North
America and Europe breeding can occur throughout the year. Gestation in the
least weasel is 34-37 days and litters can range from 1 to 7 offspring. It is
possible for the weasel to have two litters per year, but there is a high
mortality rate in the second litter. Newborns are wrinkled, pink, naked, deaf,
and blind. After about 50 days, they will have reached their adult length. In
9-12 weeks the offspring will leave the parents and by the next summer the
females will be sexually mature.
BEHAVIOR:
The
males and females live apart from each other. The male will have a larger range
than the female, so very often there will be more than one female in a male’s
range. Although the female will live in the male’s range, the female will
defend her small home range against any intruders. The least weasel is most
active at night, but will hunt in the day. The weasel will spend most of its
time hunting, but when they are not hunting they are in their den that was taken
from their prey. Weasels hunt by stalking their prey and then going after the
neck.
CONSERVATION:
The least weasel is not currently endangered or threatened in any way. They have fairly good populations all around the world.
For more Information contact: Small Carnivore TAG Education Liaison
Page created by: Angie Tallman, Pensacola Junior College, ZooTech Student Fall 2001
