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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Cultural Significance
In Macedonia, weasels were considered good omens! But weasels have long been seen as negative: sleazy, sneaky, snarky (hey, what's with the etymology?). In Greece, which was right next to Macedonia, they turned to the etymology for their superstition. They believed that weasels were disgruntled brides that had been turned into animals. A few tall tales was all it took to form the superstition that weasels destroyed wedding dresses and were bad luck to soon-to-be brides. (Wikipedia.org) According to the encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue, "the cry of a weasel was a harbinger of doom" (Wikipedia.org). Weasels were and are bad luck in many cultures: many Native American tribes believed that if you cross the path of a weasel, you will die soon. In Defoe, they are portrayed as evil, and also in Wind of the Willows.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Hunting Behavior
Weasel performing "the dance of death," click here forYoutube video |
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Breeding and Upbringing
Please note: this information is from www.ypte.org.uk.
The only time adult males and females associate is during mating season. This happens in the spring. Males may travel far from their territory during this time, while females stay in their own territory. The gestation period is around eight weeks. A litter of kittens (yes, kittens) is born in April or May, and sometimes another will be born in July or August. The kittens are born in a burrow lined with leaves or down. Their eyes open at three weeks and they are weaned a few weeks later. The juveniles and mother hunt together until the kittens can hunt for themselves at around eight weeks.
Photo by Dan Arndt, from here. |
Diet
Weasels are carnivores (nhptv.org)! That means they eat nothing but meat except in worst-case scenarios. According to esf.edu, they usually eat voles and mice but will go for larger prey such as "moles, shrews, tree squirrels, chipmunks, and snowshoe hares. [They] may also consume insects, earthworms, frogs, snakes, birds and bird’s eggs, especially when small mammals are scarce." Their strong climbing and swimming (water vole, anyone?) help catch their prey. The long--tailed weasel's* hunting technique is to pounce on the prey and bite their neck repetitively, severing crucial blood vessels in the neck (esf.org). Weasels sometimes kill too much prey and will "cache" the extra (miwildlife.org). Least weasels* have extraordinary appetites and eat almost 50% of their body weight daily (miwildlife.org).
*See habitat post for info on least, long-tailed, and short-tailed weasels.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Habitat
Weasels live primarily in North America, Europe, Northern South America, and Indonesia-area islands (image from en.academic.ru), but live anywhere except Antarctica and Australia. In North America, long-tailed, short-tailed (or ermine [like Ethel, Sara]), and least weasels are all over the place (motherearthnews.com). They sleep in burrows, but don't usually dig them themselves; they take over nests of prey and make a few modifications (ypte.org.uk). Weasels live in "woods, coniferous forests, sand dunes, grasslands, and moors" (animals.pawnation.com).
Monday, February 3, 2014
Photo from kevinunderhill.typepad.com |
Weasels are very interesting. I'll be writing about them in five subtopics: habitat, diet, breeding, hunting behavior, and cultural significance.
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