Long-Tailed Weasel Lives Dangerously

            The long-tailed weasel species is classified as the least weasel because it is the smallest member of other elongated fury animals, about the size of a domestic ferret, and, turning from brown to white in winter, it becomes an ermine to decorate the collars of ladies’ coats.

            As illustrated in my drawing, they have elongated tubular bodies with flattened ears and heads. They have a reputation as bold, aggressive predators able to chase rodents down rat holes and flush them out to be caught on the other side. They generally hunt alone to also catch mice, voles, frogs, rabbits, and birds.

            Because they need to accumulate large amounts of fat to feed their extensive activity of energy, they are best known for raiding hen houses to total destruction, often killing everything in sight.

            The female weasel, with three kits shown, is totally responsible for their upbringing, including a delayed implantation after breeding in early spring by stopping development of the eggs in her reproductive system for several months so they can be born into the warm season of summer to facilitate their growth and development.

            Weasels and their families are found wherever their prey is abundant, in young brushy forests, shrub country, edges of wetlands, and in rock and wood piles. Although they themselves are highly effective predators, they are not anywhere near the top of the food chain. They are hunted by bobcats, foxes, hawks, and owls.

            The weasel is just one member of a much larger family of a similar but larger group of ornery predators that includes the nasty-minded mink, the mean-tempered fisher, and the raging, destructive wolverine. However, the weasel, despite playing a key role in a dangerous habitat of survival of the fittest, has a much more humorous character identity when portrayed in ancient stories and fables of the creation of the animal world. At the children’s section of the Mattapoisett Library, the weasel is a prominent participant in songs that are sung to musical instruments, such as the piano.

            Among traditional country classics of children’s books are “Home on the Range,” “Over the Hills and Far Away,” and “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.” To conclude my metaphor of comparison, the most memorable youthful tune titled “Pop Goes the Weasel” is a much more colorful finish to end my animation of this long-tailed wildlife image.

By George B. Emmons

One Response to “Long-Tailed Weasel Lives Dangerously”

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  1. Brett Thacher says:

    My favorite weasel story is of one time when sitting on a low deck overlooking Wings Cove in Marion. While reading, a weasel came bounding along the top of a nearby stone wall, leapt to the ground and ran up the stone steps to the deck. It apparently did not like what it saw at the top, probably me sitting very still, reversed course and ran under the deck to emerge on the other side. All during this encounter, it was carrying a small rodent in its mouth.

    Brett Thacher

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