164 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



eat the mouse it has taken, the weasel will first suck all 

 the blood it can from the body of its victim through the 

 jugular veins at the neck. It will then bite through and 

 lift the vault of the skull, and get away with the brains, 

 of which it seems very fond. Next it pulls back the 

 pelt from the fore parts towards the tail, eating as it 

 goes, until nothing remains but the reversed hide, to 

 which dangle the four feet and tail. Sometimes weasels 



IN THIS CUT WE HAVE ONE OF THE SMALLEST SPECIES OF 

 WEASELS KNOWN (P. rizosus); ITS TOTAL LENGTH BEING ABOUT 

 12 CENTIMETERS. 



Fig. 3. This interesting little animal has a range from Hudson's Bay to 

 Alaska and from Northern Minnesota to Montana. It is a light fawn color 

 above and white beneath. 



capture shrews in wet places, and no end of meadow 

 mice in the old corn fields and pasture lands. As for 

 rats and common mice, the writer has known a pair of 

 weasels to rid a big barn of them in less than one week. 

 During their stay one or the other of them would fre- 

 quently be seen in broad daylight; they evinced no fear 

 whatever of one's presence, especially after they fully 

 appreciated the fact that they would not be molested. 

 In killing gray or other rabbits, larger weasels run 

 them down, jump upon their backs, and inflict the death 

 wound by a bite just back of the ear. Sometimes hunters 

 or others have witnessed these tragedies, and have taken 

 the rabbit for their share the weasel being in some cases 

 lucky to get off with its life. While the chase is on the 

 rabbit will often give up, and, squatting down, commence 

 to squeal in the most pitiful manner, until its merciless 

 hunter takes its life. Of course, were the rabbit not so 

 terrified its heart nearly bursting with fear for its 

 life it could easily escape, for no weasel living could 

 overtake a rabbit on a stern chase run. Occasionally 

 when a weasel meets a rabbit in the woods, the latter 

 will run as fast as he can into some adjoining field or 

 open space, and thus escape his enemy, who rarely fol- 

 lows him under such conditions, although there are ex- 

 ceptions to this. And then, could the rabbit but realize 

 it, it is just possible that if it put forth the strength of 

 which it is capable, it could readily tear such an insignifi- 

 cant creature as a weasel into bits. Even a big rat will 



sometimes stand off a weasel successfully, especially when 

 defending its young. 



Well known instances have occurred where a large 

 hawk or owl has seized a weasel in its talons, and sud- 

 denly, while soaring off with its captive, realized its 

 mistake too late. The weasel, squirming about, at last 

 fastens his teeth in the body of his captor, and, cutting 

 some big vein, soon deprives him of his life, both coming 

 clown together the hawk or owl quite dead, while the 

 weasel often runs off with only a few scratches, and none 

 the worse for his trip aloft. 



It is said that in England the weasels sometimes hunt 

 in little packs consisting of a dozen or more; and that 

 there are well authenticated cases of their having resented 

 the interference of man, promptly attacking the latter, 

 and absolutely placing him in danger of his life. One 

 can easily imagine how they might do this ; eight or ten 

 agile weasels would be very hard to keep at bay, particu- 

 larly as they, by instinct, make at once for the veins of 

 the neck ; for them to run up a man's clothing would be 



THE OLD PIERCE'S MILL, PIERCE'S MILL ROAD, 

 WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Fig. 4. Not so many years ago, and to some extent still, many of the small 

 mammals of this region weasels among them occurred in the woods close 

 to this historic old building. (See figure 6.) 



no trick at all. Their teeth are like lancets; they are 

 extremely persistent in any attack they undertake, and a 

 simultaneous one of this character would undoubtedly 

 give them additional courage. 



During the summer weasels will also feed upon crickets, 

 grasshoppers, insects of various kinds, and every bird's 

 egg they can reach, together with the birds, both big and 

 little. Quails, meadow larks, and ground-building birds 

 of every kind, constantly fall victims to these little blood- 

 sucking hunters. It has been said that a weasel is so 

 agile that it can sometimes capture a bird after the latter 

 has taken flight (Fig. 10) ; this it does by quickly spring- 

 ing into the air after it with a bound. The strength and 

 agility of these animals is really something wonderful, 

 and there is no end to their fight and pluck. When 

 cornered they will squeal most shrilly; but this is more 

 in defiance than fright. The writer has known one to 

 get into his henhouse and murder a dozen hens upon the 



