THE WEASEL FAMILY 163 



weasel, for beauty, grace, and interest, can match most other 

 Carnivores, and it argues a great want of geniality on the part 

 of the Northern Aryans that we have not domesticated the weasel, 

 as the Greeks and Romans did the marten and the spotted genet, 

 and as the Egyptians tamed the cat. Perhaps it might be argued 

 that the weasel, being so small and lithe, would have become 

 almost uncontrollable, haunting our houses like the rat, and not 

 confining its destructive powers to rats and mice. But the 

 experiment would be well worth trying. 



Except by its short tail, which has no black tuft, and its much 

 smaller size, the weasel differs but little from the stoat, and its 

 habits are remarkably similar. The weasel kills its smaller 

 victims, such as mice, by a single bite on the head which pierces 

 to the brain. In this case, as soon as the animal is dead it 

 generally proceeds to open the skull and devour the brain, which 

 is regarded as a very choice morsel. As regards blood-sucking, 

 it is doubtful whether the weasel or the stoat deliberately apply 

 themselves to this practice with a view to obtaining nourishment ; 

 but when attacking all larger mammals or birds whose skulls are 

 not easily attained, or are too hard to be bitten through, it goes 

 for the great blood-vessels under the wing in birds and in the 

 throat of mammals. Having severed these vessels in a rabbit or 

 a hare (for instance), the weasel no doubt greedily sucks at the 

 blood of its victim. The weasel, however, does not as a rule 

 attack prey that is too large to be carried off. Mice or voles are 

 generally carried by the skin of the neck, the head of the weasel 

 being held as erect as possible, so as to keep the hind quarters of 

 its quarry off the ground. Once stowed away in or near the nest, 

 the carcass is eaten at leisure, part of it becoming quite putrid 

 before it is eaten. 



The structure of the weasel's body, its long, snake-like neck, 

 short tail, and limbs, enable it to pursue mice, voles, and rats 

 through the tunnels these make in passing to and fro in dense 

 grass, hedgerows, or thickets. Like the stoat, it hunts by scent, 

 and though its sight may often reveal the proximity of a victim, 

 once on the hunt it rarely raises its head above the ground. If 



