The Smaller Carnivora 



133 



7i// /"■niu.^.iion <if Fn-c^/ Liuih P,:i,it»rloa, K.^i. 



IMILECAT. 

 ]n England this aninial i;5 bi?c( 



uimg vory scarce. 



The Weasel. 



The smallest, liercest, and 

 coniiiionest of i(s race, the 

 little Weasel is by no means 

 the least fbrmidahle to other 

 animals of the carnivora of 

 England. It is cinnamon- 

 coloured, with a white throat 

 and belly, and climbs as 

 neatly as a cat, running up 

 vertical boughs with almost 

 greater facility. A weasel in 

 a high hedge will run the 

 whole length of 1lie fence, 

 from twig to twig, w'ithout 

 descending ; it threads the 

 galleries of the field-mice, 

 sucks the eggs of small birds 

 in their nests, and attacks 

 rats, mice, rabbits, and even 

 such large birds as grouse 

 without fear or hesitation. During a great plague of field-voles in the Lowlands of Scotland 

 in the years 1890 and 1891 the weasels increased enormously. A shepherd took the trouble 

 to follow a weasel down a hollow drain in the vole-infested hillside ; he foimd the bodies of no 

 less than thirteen field-jnice, which the weasel had amused itself by killing. In winter weasels 

 hunt the corn-stacks for mice, and often make a home among the sheaves. t)ne w-as seen 

 chasing a vole by Mr. Trevor-Battye, who picked up the vole, which the weasel was just about 

 to jumj^ uji for, vrhen he threw it into the hedge. There the weasel jiounced on it and 

 carried it off ! 



The main food of the weasel is the field-mouse and small voles. Weasels are very devoted 

 to their young; they will pick them up and carry them off as a cat does a kitten, if the 

 nest is in danger. Their hunting shows great marks of cunning. One was seen in a field 

 in which a number of corn-buntings 

 were flying about, alighting on thistles. 

 The weasel went and hid under one 

 of the tallest thistles, on which a 

 bunting soon alighted ; an instant 

 after it sprang up and caught and 

 killed the bird. 



The Stoat, or Ermine. 



This is the commonest and most 

 widely distributed of all the Weasel 

 Tribe. In winter the fur turns to 

 pure white in the northern countries, 

 and occasionally in Southern England. 

 It is then known as the Ermine, and 

 yields the ermine fur. In every 

 country where it is found it is the 

 deadly foe of all small animals, from Himalayan wea,sel. 



•^ 11 j_ £ ij • Weasels are still common in England. They are fierce, and ab-suhitely fearless 



the hare to the smailest hela-mice. when in pursuit of game. 



