Get Information About Weasels

Weasels vary in length from 12 to 45 centimeters (5 to 18 in), and usually have a red or brown upper coat and a white belly; 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 22 to 33 centimeters (9 to 13 in) long. As is typical of small omnivores, weasels have a reputation for cleverness and guile.

Weasels feed on small mammals, and have from time to time been considered vermin since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. Weasels occur all across the world except for Antarctica, Australia, and neighboring islands.

Where it lives

• The weasel can be found almost anywhere in Canada (the coast, the mountains, the prairies and the far north). The weasel will move into a den of an animal that it has killed.

Babies

• In April, two to ten babies are born in a burrow. The nest is lined with fur from animals that the weasel has killed.
• The mother watches them closely and takes good care of them. In about five weeks their eyes are open. Young weasels begin to hunt when they are about two months old.

Appearance

• The weasel has a tiny face, sharp teeth and claws, and a tail with black fur at the tip. In winter it is white and in summer it is brown.

• The short-tailed weasel is a tiny animal, only 15 to 23 cm long.

Food

• It hunts for rabbits, rats, birds, frogs, ground squirrels and pika ( a small rodent that lives in the mountains) . It eats hundreds of meadow mice. Weasels that live in the north also feed on Arctic hare and lemming.

The weasel can find the open entrance to an animal's tunnel and hunt the animal underground.

The weasel usually hunts at night. It kills its prey by biting it at the back of the neck. Chicken farmers do not like the weasel. It can kill several chickens at a time. But weasels are useful animals because they eat many rats and mice.