A Short-Tailed Weasel Poses for a Quick Portrait
Lucky me! While stopping by the eagle’s nest on Marine Drive a very kind lady mentioned that she had seen a weasel darting in and out of the grass on the side of the road and just as she finished telling me, there it was!
This was my first encounter with a weasel and I was quite surprised at how small it was. I estimate it to be about 5 to 6 inches tall…tiny! And to get more information to describe it, I looked to the web and found Animals of the Pacific Northwest, a website owned and operated by Andrea Merrill, a Western Washington native and author. Here’s what she has to say about “our” weasels:
“The Olympic Short-Tailed Weasel
Found only on the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic Short-Tailed Weasel is long and slender with short legs and short tails. Their coats are light brown with a yellowish underside. Despite their size, these weasels actually prey upon mammals bigger than themselves and will often feed on small rodents. Their slender bodies allow them to chase after rodents into their burrows. Frequently, they’ll kill more than they can eat and bury the rest to eat at a later time. Unlike other weasels, the Olympic Short-Tailed Weasel doesn’t turn white in the winter, as they stay brown all year round. They’re also great swimmers and found in open habitats near water.”
And just as she described, this little guy later preyed on a much larger creature, took it back to his hideout, and will probably send the next few days consuming it – or hopefully, he shared it with family and friends.
So just when you think you’ve seen it all…guess what, you never will!
We live in Woodinville and taking my walk just to the south I came across a little creature like this one – didn’t know what it was. Then a few weeks later I saw movement on our deck which is on the second story of the house. There was this weasel racing around and around and then racing away down the steps. They are really cute and really FAST!