#mustela erminea

[snototter]

A stoat (Mustela erminea) leaps through the marshes in Suffolk, UK

by Barbara Evans

[vestaignis]

ГОРНОСТАЙ (MUSTELA ERMINEA).

Небольшой и очень активный зверёк, один из самых маленьких хищников. Длина тела — 17-38 сантиметров (из которых 6-12 сантиметров приходятся на хвост), вес взрослых зверьков — 70-260 граммов. Телосложение типично для куньих: длинное, тонкое, гибкое тело на коротких лапах. Окраска очень характерна: летом горло, грудь и живот желтовато-кремовые, остальное тело окрашено в рыжевато-бурый цвет; зимой весь зверек чисто белый, кроме задней половины хвоста, окрашенной (как и летом) в черный цвет.

Горностай активен утром и вечером. Ведет преимущественно одиночный территориальный образ жизни. В общении между собой большое значение имеют обонятельные (запаховые метки), визуальные и зв��ковые сигналы. В качестве убежищ используют норы убитых ими грызунов. Выводковые жилища устраивают в норах, дуплах деревьев, под навалами валежника. Горностай легко передвигается даже в совершенно затопленных местах, ловко прыгая по стеблям тростника, хорошо плавает. Питается грызунами, реже другими мелкими животными, падалью, ягодами. Иногда ходит по следам крупных хищников и подбирает остатки их добычи.Так же помимо грызунов, основу его питания составляют также крупные насекомые, мелкие птицы, яйца и птенцы. При изобилии пищи часто делает запасы. Ели пищи не хватает, горностай может покинуть свою территорию и отправиться на поиски более благоприятных условий.

Населяет тундры, лесотундры, хвойные и лиственные леса, лесостепи; по речным долинам проникает в степную и полупустынную зоны. Поднимается в горы до высоты 3500-4000 метров. Селится в основном в речных поймах, на опушках, зарастающих гарях и вырубках, в южных районах — в лесополосах и заросших балках. Часто встречается в агроценозах, лесопарках и даже населенных пунктах.

Максимальная продолжительность жизни — до 7 лет, но в природе подавляющее большинство горностаев живет не больше двух. Основные враги — лисы, куницы, крупные хищные птицы. 

STOAT (MUSTELA ERMINEA).

A small and very active animal, one of the smallest predators. Body length is 17-38 centimeters (of which 6-12 centimeters are the tail), the weight of adult animals is 70-260 grams. The body type is typical for mustelids: a long, thin, flexible body on short legs. The coloring is very characteristic: in summer, the throat, chest and belly are yellowish-cream, the rest of the body is colored reddish-brown; in winter, the entire animal is pure white, except for the back half of the tail, colored (as in summer) black.

The stoat is active in the morning and evening. It leads a predominantly solitary territorial lifestyle. Olfactory (smell marks), visual and sound signals are of great importance in communication with each other. They use the burrows of rodents they have killed as shelters. Brood dwellings are arranged in burrows, tree hollows, under piles of deadwood. The ermine easily moves even in completely flooded places, deftly jumping along the stems of reeds, and swims well. It feeds on rodents, less often on other small animals, carrion, and berries. Sometimes it follows the tracks of large predators and picks up the remains of their prey. In addition to rodents, its diet also consists mainly of large insects, small birds, eggs, and chicks. When food is abundant, it often makes reserves. If there is not enough food, the ermine can leave its territory and go in search of more favorable conditions.

It inhabits tundra, forest-tundra, coniferous and deciduous forests, forest-steppe; it penetrates into the steppe and semi-desert zones along river valleys. It rises into the mountains to an altitude of 3500-4000 meters. It settles mainly in river floodplains, on forest edges, overgrown burnt-out areas and clearings, in the southern regions - in forest belts and overgrown gullies. It is often found in agrocenoses, forest parks and even populated areas.

The maximum lifespan is up to 7 years, but in nature the vast majority of ermines live no more than two. The main enemies are foxes, martens, large birds of prey.

Источник://rtraveler.ru/photo/1372831/,//www.rusmam.ru/photo/index?page=421, /fotkiflo.ru/zhivotnye/sibirskiy-gornostay, /ybis.ru/ kartinki/gornostay, //www.vokrugsveta.ru/vs/article/6767/, //astrakhanzapoved.ru/горностай-mustela-erminea/.

[jadafitch]

Happy Solstice! Here's a caravan of stoats in their winter finery, for the occasion.

[verbrannt74]

Some of my mustelidae art 🦦

[spinestoat]

sequel to the spinestoat i posted yesterday

[weasel-war-dance]

Eurasian Stoat | Dario Pautasso

[victusinveritas]

[pick-a-plush]

[overdoso]

Arminho (Mustela erminea) branco da montanha pulando na neve 🥰

[birdwatching-blackbear]

Short - tailed weasel [ Stoat ] [ Mustela erminea ] , winter coat

Ploop ploop ploop

[jadeseadragon]

📷 A stoat showing off its characteristic black-tipped tail. © Nature Picture Library/Getty

📷 A stoat in its white winter coat. (Ermine) © Fabrizio Moglia/Getty

Isle of Orkney to Eradicate Stoats (Mustela erminea) by 2027

"A project to eradicate Stoats from Orkney could take another five years and may require a further £8 million to complete."

"Stoats, thought to be widespread in mainland Britain, were unknown in the Northern Isles until 2010."

"The Orkney Native Wildlife Project began trapping the mammals in 2019 and has so far removed more than 5,000 individuals. The mustelids ... pose a significant threat to breeding seabirds and waders, as well as the native Orkney Vole."

[ravensvalley]

#ShortTailedWeasel

Ermine, Stoat or Short-tailed Weasel (Mustela erminea) in its winter coat...

She's the one who has been having fun stealing the Ravens meat for a long time. I've been trying to capture her for about 3 years on my camera and finaly succeeded last Thurday during the snow storm when power was down.

And I'm very proud… she's an adorable one!

[antiqueanimals]

Stoat (Mustela erminea)

A Natural History of British and Foreign Quadrupeds. Written by James H. Fennell. 1843.

Internet Archive

[spinestoat]

whatever, go my spinestoat

[formlines]

Ermine

Alyson Bell

from the website: The ermine species found on Haida Gwaii is endemic and has been isolated for the last 300.000 years. It is a subspecies under the name Mustela Erminea Haidarum. It loses its summer colours every year to better camouflage itself in the snow. The ermine is a beautiful and transformative being.

[amber-tortoiseshell]

Phylogenetic weasel tournament

Family: Mustelidae

Subfamily: Mustelinae

Genus: Mustela

Unprecedented: three species in one poll!

This is because I couldn't choose two of them that are both more closely related to each other than to the third: Haida ermine is thought to be the ancient hybrid of the other two species, formed on a few islands in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

Ermines in various stages of molting (M.e, M.r, M.r, M.e, M.e, M.h):

pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9