Rare Predator

Weasels get a bad rap.  Oftentimes, co-opted as a pejorative term for a scoundrel or rogue.  I think it's a pretty cool critter inasmuch as I've never captured an image on a trail camera before.  I checked.  This is a first.  Mink, yes.  This fella, nope.  I've saw one on a rock pile during a late December bow hunt years ago but alas, no photographic evidence until this.

Meet Mustela Frenata - the long-tailed weasel.

click on image for a closer look

Appearing here in all white winter coat.  Brown in the summer months with an identifying field mark in the form of a black-tipped tail year-round.  This species is larger than the short-tailed weasel and the least weasel (lacks a black-tipped tail).  Smaller than a mink who does not sport a white coat in the winter.

A nocturnal animal it is active throughout the year.  Primary prey are mice and voles; however, it will take down a rabbit and climb a tree to snag a squirrel.  Weasels also dine on insects and bird eggs during the warmer months.  A busy predator this critter consumes one-quarter to almost half of its body weight on a daily basis.  Having dined on larger prey the leftovers are cached for later consumption.

Breeding season is summertime with fertilized eggs implanted for later development. Four to eight kits are birthed once a year in spring.

If you want to use a euphemism to describe a scallywag; don't impugn the reputation of my pal and totally cool predator by referring to the jerk as a weasel.