Small, fast predators with long, slender bodies and short legs, in the same genus as stoats, polecats and ferrets. In Britain “weasel” means the least weasel, the smallest carnivore of all.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inEurope, Asia, North America
HabitatGrassland, Farmland, Forest
ColoursBrown, White
SizeTiny
Length17.3–21.7 cm (least weasel)
Weight30–100 g (least weasel)
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for2–3 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Europe, Asia and North America; the least weasel crossed to North America about 200,000 years ago.
- What it eats
- Mainly small rodents such as voles, plus birds when rodents are scarce.
Did you know
Light enough to hunt inside mouse tunnels, and eats a third of its weight a day.
It doesn’t dig its own den, but moves into the old burrow of a mole or rat.
Often confused with
- Stoat
Stoats and weasels are close relatives in the same genus; the least weasel is the smaller of the two.
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