New York is home to three different weasels: the Long-Tailed Weasel, the Short-Tailed Weasel and the Least Weasel. Let’s learn about these tenacious little predators.

Weasels are members of the mustelidae family of mammals. So are river otters, mink, fishers and American Martin. The Long-Tailed Weasel is the largest of our three true weasels (about the size of a grey squirrel but longer and more slender). The Least Weasel is the smallest.

Weasels have fur that changes color with the seasons: white in the winter and dark brown with lighter bellies the rest of the year. It takes about a month for the molting process to complete the color change in the early Spring or late Fall. Long- and Short-Tailed Weasels both have black tips on their tails which do not change color.

Long-Tailed Weasels are generalists when it comes to habitat. If prey is abundant, they will often be found in places that you would not expect. They thrive in open spaces in dense woods where grasses grow to attract small mammals, as well as in hedgerows and brushy fields.

Short-Tailed Weasels, often called Ermine, are similar to the Long-Tailed in their habits but are smaller. Their tails are only about 1/3 the length of their body.

The Least Weasel is the rarest of the three in New York, only because we are on the edge of its range, not because they are uncommon. The Least Weasel is the smallest of the three and has no black on the tip of its tail. This lack of black fur can be used to easily identify it.

Weasels have voracious appetites and consume more than 1/3 to 1/2 of their body weight in prey every day. Mice and voles make up most of their diet, but they also eat chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, birds, eggs and the occasional farmer’s chicken.

Weasels lead solitary lives outside of breeding season, which takes place in July and August. Like their cousins the river otters, weasels can delay implantation (as much as 250 days) after breeding. Females are able to breed in their first Summer, but males aren’t until their second.

Four or five kits are usually born in a litter. They are blind and naked and 100 percent dependent on their parents for food and warmth. Their mothers play a big role but fathers will also gather food for the young.

Weasels have large ranges for their size, often as much as 100 acres. They usually have multiple den sites. Weasels use scent glands to mark their territories and as a defense when attacked. They are preyed upon by fox, coyotes, bobcats and various large raptors.

Here are some fun facts about weasels to close with. The Least Weasel is the smallest carnivorous mammal in the entire world. Weasels generally have no body fat at all. Weasels often do a frenzied “war dance” to confuse their prey. And, a group of weasels is sometimes called a “confusion” of weasels.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.