This week, the UK’s smallest carnivore – the weasel – has been spotted at RSPB Geltsdale. Wildlife enthusiast Adam Moan snapped this amazing photograph of the cute but deadly mammal, so we are sharing some facts about it, its habitat and its voracious appetite.
Weasels (whose scientific name is Mustela nivalis) may look adorable, but they make short work of taking down birds and small mammals. They belong to a group of animals called mustelids, which includes otters and stoats – and resemble these two species, with their long bodies and short legs. Weasels have russet brown backs and a cream-coloured throat and belly. They are smaller than stoats and have a shorter, all brown tail with no black tip. Their gait also differs to stoats’, as they run with a straight back, whereas stoats bound along with an arched back.
Weasels can be found across mainland England, Wales and Scotland – though not in Northern Ireland and most islands. They live in a range of habitats, including grassland, moorland and woodland, and can have up to two litters a year, with three to six young (called kits) in each litter. They are small, agile creatures, so can squeeze into the burrows of small rodents to snare their prey.
Weasels have enormous appetites and a very high metabolism, eating a third of their own body weight daily. They are not much bigger than the mice and voles they hunt, as they usually measure just 20 to 27 cm long. A large male weasel weighs around 195g, while a small female is just 50g. Weasels may also take larger prey such as young rabbits, and will also eat birds and their eggs. They are predated by foxes and birds of prey, so seek out places to shelter in long grass and vegetation and use linear features such as hedgerows and drystone walls to move around their territory. As a result, they are often hard to spot, deliberately hiding away from view – so this sighting here at Geltsdale is very special!