least weasel | | | the smallest carnivore in Canada | | | | weasel | mouse, pocket gopher or mole burrow | much of Canada except the Maritimes, southern Ontario and Quebec, coastal BC and the northeastern arctic tundra | | Mustela nivalis | | | | | | | | belette pygmée | | | | | | | stubble fields, meadows, river banks, parklands, mixed forests | long-tailed weasels, owls, feral house cats |
adult least weasel | | biting through the back of the neck of its prey | the smallest carnivore in Canada | shrill shriek | mouse carcasses in larder | 4 months | least weasel | mouse, pocket gopher or mole burrow | much of Canada except the Maritimes, southern Ontario and Quebec, coastal BC and the northeastern arctic tundra | | Mustela nivalis | 25-63.5 g | more than 100 yards from its home | 1 gram of food per hour which adds up to more than half the body weight of an adult least weasel per day | meadow voles, prairie voles, red-backed voles, deer mice, house mice, harvest mice, amphibians, insects | fine grass or mouse fur | 170-217 mm | slender body | belette pygmée | | 0.8 hectares | | all winter | dark brown with white underparts in summer, white in winter | scent | stubble fields, meadows, river banks, parklands, mixed forests | long-tailed weasels, owls, feral house cats |
baby least weasel | 24 days | | the smallest carnivore in Canada | | | | least weasel | mouse, pocket gopher or mole burrow | much of Canada except the Maritimes, southern Ontario and Quebec, coastal BC and the northeastern arctic tundra | | Mustela nivalis | | | | | | | | belette pygmée | | | 30 days | | | | stubble fields, meadows, river banks, parklands, mixed forests | long-tailed weasels, owls, feral house cats |