The weasel can be found
almost anywhere in Canada, from the coast, to the mountains, to the prairies,
to the far north . The weasel will move into a den of an animal that
it has killed.
In April, two to ten babies are born
in a burrow. The nest is lined with fur from animals that the weasel
has killed. The mother watches them closely and takes good care of
them. In about five weeks their eyes are open. Then the mother no
longer gives them milk to drink.
The weasel is a tiny animal , only
15 to 23 cm long. In winter it is white, and in summer
it is brown . The weasel has a tiny face, sharp teeth and claws, and a
tail with black fur at the tip.
It looks for rabbits, rats,
birds, frogs, ground squirrels, and pike (a small rodent that lives in
the mountains). It eats hundreds of meadow mice. If it lives
in the north, it also feeds on arctic hare and lemming. The weasel
can find the open entrance to a gopher tunnel and hunt the gopher underground.
Chicken farmers do not like the weasel for it can kill several chickens,
but weasels are useful animals because they eat many rats and mice.
The weasel
does not have many friends. Animals much bigger than it , do not
dare come near. Some say the weasel will kill without reason, even
though it is not hungry. It is not afraid to fight a bear, or a porcupine.
Weasels are as curious as raccoons and look under every bush and
into holes.
The short tailed weasel is small,
but it is not afraid. It is a good fighter and moves in a flash.
The weasel is a silent hunter, and
can approach without a sound, then rush upon the animal. The weasel
coat changes color. The brownish summer coat turns white for the
winter. Just the tip of the tail stays black. Some people say
that a weasel smells worse then the skunk (because of its musk glands).
The slender (thin-) body allows it to enter gopher tunnels to hunt for
gophers.
Its enemies are the snakes, hawks,
and owls kill the weasel.