• Home
  • Coniferous Animals
  • Coniferous Trees
  • About Coniferous Forest
  • Contact
Home > Coniferous Forest Animals > Least Weasel

Least Weasel

The least weasel is the smallest species of the weasel family and is also known as only the “weasel” in the United Kingdom. It is the smallest carnivore in the world with a typical long and slender body contour. This mammal has long whiskers, big eyes, relatively short limbs and a short tail.

Even though the least weasel is small in size, it has a huge appetite and can hunt animals that are larger than its size. Their coat changes color for the northern populations; it is rusty chocolate brown in summer and turns pure white in winter. However, the southern population does not change their coat color seasonally.

Least Weasel

Least Weasel

Least Weasel Scientific Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
Class Mammalia
OrderCarnivora
Family Mustelidae
Genus Mustela
Scientific NameMustela Nivalis

Least Weasel Quick Information

Other Popular NamesCommon Weasel, European Weasel, Belette d’Europe (French), Comadreja (Spanish )
Size 165 to 217 mm
Weight30 to 100 gm
ColorGinger to chocolate, russet brown with creamy white under-parts in summer,  weasels in the northern ranges turn white in winter
DistributionCircumboreal, Holarctic distribution that encompasses Europe, Asia, North Africa and Northern North America.
Habitat Coniferous and deciduous forests, prairie grasslands, bushy taiga, open tundra and rainforests.
Sound  Low trills; loud and harsh chirps or screeches during hunting or fighting.

Babies – High pitched squeaks

Litter  Size4 to 6 young ones called kits
 Gestation Period34 to 37 days
LifespanUp to 3 years in the wild
DietRats, small birds, rabbits, mice, moles, bird’s eggs and poultry
PredatorsLarge hawks and owls
IUCN Conservation StatusLeast Concern
Least Weasel Range

Least Weasel Range

The Least Weasel

The Least Weasel

Behavior

Least Weasels are generally solitary animals that live alone, with the exception of the breeding season when the otherwise sedentary males traverse distances in search of females. They have a territorial pattern that is typical of most mustelids with unique male home ranges that include many female home ranges. The male least weasel increases its home range in spring and when there are food shortages.

White Least Weasel

White Least Weasel

These mammals have hierarchies where the older males exercise their dominance over females and the juvenile males. The dominant males attacks other males and make them squeal and retreat. However, the females fight back when attacked even though they submit to the dominant male.

These small animals must eat at regular intervals, otherwise they might starve. Hence, they keep foraging for food all the time. They kill prey much larger than themselves but can eat only a little amount of meat in each meal. This results in the weasels storing the food for eating later. This practice is called as caching and helps females with kits get their required nutrition.

Least Weasel Images

Least Weasel Images

Least Weasel Photos

Least Weasel Photos

Mating and Reproduction

Least weasels have polygynandrous mating habits, which means that they exhibit promiscuity with the males and females mating many times with a number of partners. They usually mate during spring and summer in the months of April to July but may breed at other times during the year.

Least Weasel Babies

Least Weasel Babies

The females are in estrous for more or less four days and they mate with several males over this duration. Courtship is a rough affair  and includes biting, tumbling and fighting till the male can get a hold over the female at the nape of her neck. This is followed by prolonged copulation for over an hour which is needed to trigger female ovulation.

Least Weasel Baby

Least Weasel Baby

Life Cycle

The gestation period of these mammals lasts for around a month after which four or five kits are born. The young ones are altricial and are born without any hair; their survival is totally dependent on their mother.

The mother feeds the babies with her milk for around 32 days and this is followed by weaning; however, she may feed her babies with meat once they are around two weeks old. The kits are able to kill prey on their own at the end of 47 days and when they complete nine or ten weeks of age, they leave their mother and become independent.

Least Weasel Pictures

Least Weasel Pictures

The juvenile females mature faster and are ready to breed at the age of 3 to 8 months, whereas the males reach reproductive maturity at the age of 5 to 9 months.

Least Weasel White

Least Weasel White

Adaptations

The change in the coat color is brought about through molting that helps the least weasel camouflage itself with its surroundings. This mammal has the ability to curl up in the shape of a ball that helps restore its body heat when it gets cold in winter. Their big carnassial teeth helps them kill their prey effectively, while their sharp nails and streamlined body help in hunting at all times of the day.

Least Weasel Hunting

Least Weasel Hunting

Least Weasel Size

Least Weasel Size

Interesting Facts

  • These small mammals have 34 teeth in all.
  • The tips of their tails are not black differentiating them from similar animals like stoats, ermines, and long-tailed weasels.
  • The least weasel does a lot of physical activity and needs to eat food equivalent to more than half its body weight daily.
  • The meat that is stored in burrows through their practice of caching often rots and gets wasted as they like consuming fresh meat.
  • The male weasel’s territory may cover 40 acres and he may even fight for it.
  • The least weasel has the ability to kill animals that are five times larger than its physical dimensions.
  • Earlier, weasels were thought to possess magical powers and resurrect their dead babies back to life.
  • Even though least weasels are promiscuous, males do not compete with other males for attracting females.
  • If they get cornered or are startled, they will release anal gland secretions that emit a foul smelling liquid.

References:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_weasel
  2. http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/ Mustela_nivalis/
  3. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/70207409/147993366
  4. http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/ Mustela_nivalis/
  5. https://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AMAJF02020
  6. http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/ nuernber_kels/adaptation.htm

Published on July 16th 2015 by admin under Coniferous Forest Animals.
Article was last reviewed on 5th December 2024.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

70 − = 64

    • Recent Posts

      • Cedar Tree of Lebanon
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      • Black-backed Woodpecker
      • Eastern Gray Squirrel
      • Bohemian Waxwing
      • Norway Spruce
      • Douglas Squirrel
      • Northern Goshawk
      • Bighorn Sheep
      • Eastern Milk Snake
      • Ovenbird
      • California Redwood
      • Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
      • Foxtail Pine
      • Snow Goose
    • Categories

      • Coniferous Forest Animals
      • Coniferous Trees
        • Cedar
        • Cypress
        • Fir
        • Hemlock
        • Juniper
        • Larch
        • Pine
        • Spruce
        • Yew

© 2025 (Coniferous Forest). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

  • Privacy Policy