Nature Bulletin No. 137    January 10, 1948
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
William N. Erickson, President
Roberts Mann, Supt. of Conservation

****:THE WEASEL

The weasel is a close relative of the mink but is smaller and lives 
entirely on land. It, too, has musk glands that can eject a powerful 
disagreeable odor. Summer and winter, it is a tireless fearless hunter 
that kills not only for food but also, apparently, for pleasure. A weasel 
hag been known to kill all of the 40 chickens in a hen-house, drinking 
only the blood of a few.

Hunting at night, and frequently in day time, they prey on mice, rabbits, 
chipmunks, ground-squirrels, gophers and ground-nesting birds. They 
also eat grasshoppers, crickets, frogs, and even earthworms. They can 
climb trees after white-footed mice and squirrels, and a weasel has been 
known to chase a squirrel through the trees, from branch to branch, until 
it got him. Just the other day, a group of men standing in a farmyard 
saw a rabbit, closely pursued by a weasel, come running and zigzagging 
toward them. Right at their feet, the weasel seized the rabbit at the back 
of its head, hugging the body with his fore legs and scratching wildly at 
the belly with his hind legs. The men yelled and kicked at the weasel 
until it ran off a few yards, where it stopped, looked back hungrily, and 
then bounded away.

Actually, this fierce little animal is beneficial to the farmer because it 
destroys great numbers of mice, rats, ground-squirrels and gophers. It 
has a long slender body, short legs, a long neck, and a small narrow 
triangular head with low rounded ears and bulging jaw muscles. The 
upper parts are dark brown, the under parts are whitish, usually tinged 
with yellow; and the slightly bushy tail has a black tip. In northern 
regions the weasel turns white in winter, except for the black tip of the 
tail. Here, and farther south, the color rarely changes. Trapped in 
winter, the fur of northern weasels is sold as "ermine", for many years 
forbidden to be worn except by royalty. The true ermine is a weasel of 
northern Europe and Asia.

Weasels remain paired, perhaps for life, and are devoted to their young, 
from 4 to 8 in number, born each spring. Blind and helpless at birth, 
they are soon able to romp and play and hunt with their parents. The 
home life of the weasel contrasts curiously with its fierce nature.

It can twist and strike like a snake. Hence the expression: "weasel 
words".