Tree squirrels and rabbits are less frequently eaten. Nat. The least weasel has a circumboreal distribution, occurring in both the Old and New Worlds. The Least Weasel experiences pronounced population irruptions during periods of high prey abundance, at which time dispersal may occur.
Univ.
Summer pelage is chocolate brown dorsally and white ventrally. They tend to be solitary except during the breeding season and when rearing young.
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Habits: Long-tailed weasels are both diurnal and nocturnal, but are reported to be more active after sundown and before sunrise. Minks have silky, chestnut-colored pelage and weigh two to three pounds, with males being slightly larger than females. They are most abundant near creeks, rivers, lakes, and forests.
Weasels (Family Mustelidae) River Otter Lontra canadensis Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis Long-tailed Weasel Mustela frenata Black-footed Ferret Mustela nigripes Least Weasel Mustela nivalis Mink Mustela vison Eastern Spotted Skunk Spilogale putorius Badger Taxidea taxus. The newborn young are blind, unfurred, about 65 mm long, and weigh three grams. It has typical weasel features, including a long, slender body; short legs; a long neck; a flat head; large black eyes; rounded ears; and long vibrissae (whiskers). North American Fauna, 11:1-44.
Sutton, J. F. Notes on skeletal variation, tooth replacement, and cranial suture closure of the porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).
They may cover three to 90 hectares, but usually average nine to 12 hectares. Maximum longevity of this mammal is three to four years in the wild, and up to five years in captivity.
Remarks: Long-tailed weasels do not appear to be abundant anywhere in Kansas. Remarks: Long-tailed weasels do not appear to be abundant anywhere in Kansas.
The tail does not have a black tip. Trans. County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences): Barton (4); Brown (2); Butler (1); Clay (2); Cloud (2); Coffey (1); Ellis (19); Ellsworth (1); Finney (1); Harvey (1); Jackson (3); Jefferson (2); Jewell (9); Lincoln (2); Marion (11); Marshall (2); McPherson (3); Mitchell (1); Ness (1); Osborne (1); Ottawa (2); Phillips (1); Pottawatomie (2); Reno (1); Republic (4); Rice (1); Riley (5); Rooks (4); Rush (2); Russell (2); Saline (5); Sedgwick (1); Smith (7); Unknown (1); The Least Weasel is found most commonly in meadows and grasslands, reaching its greatest abundance in marshy areas, and is least common in dense forest lacking ground cover. Kansas Publ. They are often found in open grassland, shrubby areas, along woodland borders, and riparian forests. In North America, it ranges southward across Alaska and much of Canada onto the Great Plains and the Appalachian Mountains. During weaning the male may help provide the young with food. Ranges between animals frequently overlap, and individuals may cover their entire range in a single night. There are three subspecies of the long-tailed weasel in Kansas; Mustela frenata longicauda Bonaparte in the western third of the state north of Edwards county (circles), Mustela frenata neomexicana (Barber and Cockerell) in the southwest corner of the state (squares), and Mustela frenata primulina Jackson in the eastern two-thirds of the state (triangles).
Range and Habitat: Long-tailed weasels are distributed throughout the state.
In Kansas, winter pelage in most specimens resembles summer pelage except the fur is longer and more dense. Males are larger than females. They occur in all life zones except desert, and they theoretically can be found in almost all natural habitats in Kansas, especially near water. To the north of Kansas, Long-tailed Weasels molt into white pelage for winter. (): Swan, T. Additional records of the least weasel in Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 80():159-160.
TWT © 2020 — Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University. 2 volumespp. Adults may attain the following dimensions: total length 166-216 mm; length of tail 26-44 mm; length of hind foot 20-28 mm; length of ear 9-15 mm; weight 32-63 grams. From that species, the Least Weasel easily can be distinguished by its much smaller size, relatively shorter tail, and the lack of a black tip on its tail.
Pages 2570266 in Contributions in Quaternary vertebrate paleontology: a volume in memorial to John E. Guilday.
(): Hesket, M. G., and E. D. Fleharty Additional records of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis) in Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 68():582-583.
As with the Long-tailed Weasel, rarity is likely an artifact of perception, and not reality. Jones, J. K., Jr., and G. L. Cortner The least weasel, Mustela nivalis, in Kansas.
pp. Wherever they occur they are major predators of small mammals. Cats (Family Felidae) Mountain Lion Felis concolor Bobcat Lynx rufus
Weasels are so small and agile that they fit into the burrows of their small rodent prey, enabling them to hunt day or night and in any season; they can even hunt in the snow! Merriam, C. H. Synopsis of the weasels of North America.
Males may average 230 meters per night and females 105 meters per night.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Active both night and day throughout the year, Least Weasels investigate holes and burrows searching for prey. The fact that they are strongly territorial limits their population size in any one area. Their eyes open by five weeks of age at which point weaning begins.
Home ranges increase in size as food becomes less abundant, and are larger in open forests. Nat. Sci., 73:404-406. Specimens are now observed only occasionally throughout the range in Kansas.
The tail is brown tipped with black. Kansas Acad. Kansas Publ. In central and western Kansas the spotted skunk prefers riparian habitats. Mus.
Like other weasels, the Long-tailed Weasel has a long, slender body, short legs, a long neck, and a flattened, triangular head. Univ. The current distribution of the least weasel in Kansas potentially includes all areas of the state except the Southwest.
Female long-tailed weasels may breed at three to four months of age while males are not sexually mature until the year following their birth. Timm, R. M., G. R. Pisani, J. R. Choate, N. A. Slade, G. A. Kaufman, and D. W. Kaufman http://www.ku.edu/~mammals, .
Well over half the diet consists of small mammals; voles, deer mice, pocket gophers, ground squirrels, house mice and rats.
Univ.
After this time the embryos resume development, and four to nine (usually six to eight) young are born 27 days later. However, an occasional weasel in northern Kansas has a winter pelage that is pure white or mottled white and brown. Males are much larger than females. Fitzgerald, J. F., C. A. Meaney, and D. M. Armstrong University Press of Colorado, Niwot, CO. 1-467pp. Weasels spend most of their time hunting or eating and digest their food in under four hours. (): Hall, E. R., and K. R. Kelson Ronald Press, New York.
Population densities may vary from one to 32 long-tailed weasels per square kilometer. Shredded grasses and leaves may be gathered for bedding although some nests contain little if any bedding. Food: Long-tailed weasels are highly carnivorous. By 50 to 60 days the difference in size of the sexes is evident. Many burrows used temporarily by Least Weasels previously were used by the prey animals.
Fertilized ova develop for approximately eight days, then cease development for about seven and one half months. Reproduction: The long-tailed weasel breeds in July and August. TWT © 2020 — Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University.
In Kansas, winter pelage in most specimens resembles summer pelage except the fur is longer and more dense. Dorsal winter pelage in Kansas is brown like summer pelage in some specimens, mottled brown and white in some others, and completely white in others.
The Long-tailed Weasel has the largest distribution of any weasel in the western hemisphere, ranging from southern Canada southward into South America. Many more prey may be killed than can be eaten, with the remainder cached for later use. Bot., 17:56-62. Bobcats, foxes, coyotes, eagles, hawks, and owls are reported to prey on long-tailed weasels.
By the fourth week their teeth have erupted. Later the young accompany the female while she hunts, and disperse when they are 70 to 83 days old.
The fur is short and soft. The dental formula is incisors 3/3, canine 1/1, premolars 3/3, molars 1/2. pp.
American Midl. Hist. Sheffield, S. R., and H. H. Thomas Mustela frenata Mammalian Species 570():1-9. Nat. (): Bailey, V., and M. R. Terman Update on the least weasel (Mustela nivalis) in Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 89():62-65, Choate, J. R., W. Langley, and V. Bailey The least weasel in southeastern Kansas Prairie Naturalist 20(1):57, Sheffield, S. R., and C. M. King Mustela nivalis Mammalian Species 454():1-10, Hoofer, S. R., and J. R. Choate Updated distribution of the least weasel on the central Great Plains Prairie Naturalist 29(1):1-6.
Kansas Acad.
Males usually move farther than females.
Although seldom seen, the species evidently occurs throughout Kansas. Tulane Studies Zool.
Their dens often are refurbished from the dens of prey. Longevity of this small mammal is one or two years in the wild.