124 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



" At last a beautiful male Weasel occupied the 

 house. On several occasions he left both chick- 

 ens and rabbits in the compartments for two 

 nights without killing them, and of ninety per 

 cent of the animals he killed in six months por- 

 tions of the bodies were eaten. Upon the dis- 

 section of this Weasel no parasite was found. 

 Some time later another Weasel without the 

 parasite behaved in the same manner. A 

 Weasel which was trapped and brought to me 

 dead had no parasite, but the stomach contained 

 much solid food. 



" I noticed with the \\'easels having parasites 

 that they were not in as fine a condition as 

 those not having them. The fur in many cases 

 showed a marked difference, being thicker and 

 more glossy in those without the parasites. The 

 length of the parasites varied from six to nine 

 and a half inches. This seems to point to one 

 conclusion, that the parasite in the \\'easers 

 stomach is one cause for its choice of food and 

 the blind ferocity that stamps the animal as a 

 bloodthirsty little villain." 



^^'hen angered the Weasel emits a penetrating 

 and disagreeable odor, common to its family. 



The mother Weasel's courage in defending her 

 young against all odds is well known. The nest 

 is constructed of dry leaves or moss in a stone 

 heap, or log pile, or hollow log. There are two 

 or three litters each year, with four or five 

 young at a birth. 



The young develop very rapidly and soon learn 

 to shift for themselves. The following anecdote 

 by an observer testifies to this fact : " I was 

 walking through a park one day early in the 

 autumn, when I noticed that the dead leaves 

 under a tree were tossing and tumbling about ™ 

 a curious manner. On going a little closer I 

 found that a mother Weasel and her little ones 

 were playing together. When I came uj), of 

 course, they all ran away. So I ran after them, 

 and caught one of the little animals by putting 

 my foot on it, just hard enough to hold it" down 

 on the ground without hurting it. And imme- 

 diately the little creature, which was only about 

 six inches long, twisted itself around, and drove 

 its sharp teeth into the edge of the sole of my 

 shoe, both from above and below. So that if I 

 had done what I thought of doing at first and 

 had stooped to pick it up, its teeth would cer- 

 tainly have met in my finger." 



The Weasel is a skilful climber, darting along 

 the limbs of trees with the nimbleness of a Squir- 

 rel. Not content with seeking its prey on the 

 ground it will pursue birds through the trees. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher says, " The Weasel is one 

 of Nature's most efficient checks upon the hordes 

 of meadow mice and other rodents, which at 

 times destroy forage, crops, orchards, vineyards, 

 and garden produce. It feeds also upon rabbits, 

 squirrels, and birds, and in many sections its 

 occasional inroads on the poultry yard have 

 brought it into serious disrepute. It is, of course. 

 desirable to kill particular individuals which have 

 acquired the poultry habit, but farmers and hor- 

 ticulturists will make a mistake if they systemati- 

 callv destrov Weasels." 



Photograph by H T. .Middleton 



NEW YORK WEASEL 



The Weasers body is long, and its legs are set so far apart that 

 they seem to work independently 



The Mountain Weasel is tolerably common in 

 the mountainous parts of the West, and replaces 

 the Long-tailed Weasel from the eastern base 

 of the foothills westward. It has a wide 

 vertical range and occurs on both slopes of the 

 Continental Divide from 5,000 feet to timberline. 



It frequents the piles of large bowlders and 

 debris in canyon bottoms and along mountain 

 streams, where it preys chiefly upon Mice, Chip- 

 munks, and Say Spermophiles. Wlien surprised 

 in the open, it immediately seeks refuge among 

 the nearest rocks, but once in its safe retreat, its 

 curiosity overcomes its fear, and it is seldom out 

 of sight for more than a moment. 



