Weasel
| Weasels | |
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| Long-tailed Weasel | |
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| Genus: | Mustela Linnaeus, 1758
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Mustela africana | |
Weasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis). Early literary references to weasels, for example their common appearances in fables, refer to this species rather than to the genus as a whole.
Weasels vary in length from 15 to 35 centimeters (6 to 14 inches), and usually have a light brown upper coat, white belly and black fur at the tip of the tail; in many species, populations living at high latitudes moult to a white coat with black fur at the tip of the tail in winter. They have long slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Their tails are typically almost as long as the rest of their bodies. As is typical of small carnivores, weasels have a reputation for cleverness and guile.
Most weasels feed on small mammals, and in former times were considered vermin since some species took poultry from farms, or rabbits from commercial warrens. Some species of weasel have been reported to perform a "hypnotic dance" in front of prey, which appears to mesmerize it. In folklore at least, this behavior is particularly associated with the stoat.
Of the 16 extant species currently classified in the genus Mustela, only 10 have "weasel" in their common name. Among those that do not are the stoat, the two species of mink, and the polecats or ferrets.
Popular culture references
In U.S. popular culture in particular, the term "weasel" is associated with devious characters. Many of these references are unclear about the fact that in US usage, "weasel" refers to a genus rather than a single species; for example, in Brian Jacques' Redwall series, weasels are one of the many villainous races, along with rats and ferrets - whereas biologically speaking ferrets are a species of weasel. In the Dilbert cartoons, some of the most devious characters are portrayed as literal weasels or have weasel-like features. To add to the weasel's reputation for skullduggery, the idiomatic phrase "Weasel words" refers to insincere or devious speech. Elements of the US media described the declaration by France, Germany and Belgium against the 2003 invasion of Iraq as "The Axis Of Weasel," a parody of the "Axis of Evil."
British popular culture references to weasels are generally specifically to the Least Weasel. For example Alan Lloyd's novel Kine, about a fictional war in the English countryside between weasels and the invasive species mink, who are depicted as sadistic, voracious invaders, giants in comparison to the weasels; in American usage, both species would be kinds of weasel. Kine in this context is an archaic word for weasel. Similarly in Kenneth Grahame's popular story The Wind in the Willows the villains are the weasels and the stoats, again two species of weasel in American usage. Here everyday usage reflects the original European use of the word weasel for a single species.
A kamaitachi is, according to Japanese myth, a malevolent, weasel like wind spirit, wielding a sharp sickle. They are as good as always depicted in groups of three individuals, and the three act together in their attacks; the first one hits the victim so that he/she falls to the ground, the second slashes with the sickle and the third partially heals the wound.
American parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic dedicated an entire song on his album Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) to a ficticious holiday he titles Weasel Stomping Day. The song contains a cheery melody punctured with sounds that imply that weasels are being crushed. An animated music video to go along with Weasel Stomping Day, which first appeared on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, very graphicly depicts weasels being crushed in various ways.
Species of weasel
- Subgenus Grammogale
- Tropical Weasel, Mustela africana
- Colombian Weasel, Mustela felipei
- Subgenus Lutreola
- European Mink, Mustela lutreola
- Indonesian Mountain Weasel, Mustela lutreolina
- Malayan Weasel, Mustela nudipes
- Siberian Weasel, Mustela sibirica
- Black-striped Weasel, Mustela strigidorsa
- Subgenus Mustela
- Mountain Weasel, Mustela altaica
- Stoat, Mustela erminea
- Long-tailed Weasel, Mustela frenata
- Yellow-bellied Weasel, Mustela kathiah
- Least Weasel, Mustela nivalis
- Subgenus Putorius
- Steppe Polecat, Mustela eversmannii
- Black-footed Ferret, Mustela nigripes
- European Polecat, Mustela putorius (includes the domestic ferret)
- Subgenus Vison
- Sea Mink, Mustela macrodon (extinct in 1894)
- American Mink, Mustela vison
References
- Nowak, Ronald M. and Walker, Ernest P., Walker's carnivores of the world, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.