Weasels

Weasels have a long slender body that resembles the body of a skinny rat. On the average, males are larger than females. These weasels have long, bushy tails that are about 50% of the total body length. Long-tailed weasels have a small, narrow head with long whiskers. They also have short legs. The fur of the long-tailed weasel is composed of short, soft underfur covered by shiny guard hair. They are cinnamon brown in color with white under parts that have yellow tinge. Twice a year these weasels shed their fur, once in the spring and again in the fall. The shedding of weasels is controlled by photoperiod. The coat of animals in northern populations is white in the winter and brown in the summer, while those in southern populations are brown year round.

The long-tailed weasel is not a group-oriented animal; the sexes live apart from each other exept during the mating season. One male's home range may overlap a few female home ranges, but the home ranges of adults of the same sex never overlap. Weasels exhibit very aggressive behavior to intruders of their home ranges. Long-tailed weasels hunt their prey by picking up on a scent or sound. They then follow the animal and make a quick attack. They kill their prey by a quick bite at the base of the skull. While long-tailed weasels can be active during the day, they are more active at night. These weasels are also known to be noisy animals, but the noise is usually in response to some type of disturbance.

Long-tailed weasels have adapted well to the changes in environment caused by human. Long-tailed weasels are found in temperate and tropical habitats in North and Central America. These habitats range from crop fields to small wooded areas to suburban areas. They are not found in deserts or thick, dense forests. Their burrows and nests are in hollow logs, rock piles, and under barns. Sometimes instead of building a new nest, long-tailed weasels take the home of one of their victims.
The main prey for the long-tailed weasel is small rodents. Females, with smaller bodies, have better luck getting the small rodents because their bodies can fit inside the small rodent burrows. Males pursue larger animals, for example the eastern cottontail. While mammals are the food of choice, the weasels eat a wide range of food, from birds to reptiles, and in the summer their diet includes fruits and berries.