Weasel
Mustela nivalis
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Britain's smallest carnivore — small enough to hunt a vole down its own tunnel.
A tiny, elongated predator, chestnut above and white below with a wavy rather than straight border between the two, and a short tail with no black tip — the quickest way to separate it from a stoat. Weasels hunt the rough grassland, hedge bottoms, drystone dykes and woodland edge around Dumfries, and are so small and fast that most sightings are a brown blur crossing a path.
Behaviour
The weasel's body is narrow enough to follow a field vole into its own runway and burrow, which makes it the most specialised small-mammal hunter here. That shape comes at a cost: a huge surface area for its size means constant heat loss, so a weasel must eat around a third of its body weight daily and hunts in short bursts around the clock. Populations rise and fall with the vole cycle.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Mustelids (Mustelidae)
- Size
- Body 17–24 cm · Britain's smallest carnivore
- UK status
- Widespread; not protected
Photo by Keven Law, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons