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Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731856
12/01/22 04:13 PM
12/01/22 04:13 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,666
Idaho, Lemhi County
G
Gulo Offline
"On The Other Hand"
Gulo  Offline
"On The Other Hand"
G

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,666
Idaho, Lemhi County
Boco's correct. On the least, very short tail and no black tip. Usually very small. Overall size is not something you want to rely on for distinguishing the three weasel species. They vary greatly in size over their ranges. In interior Alaska, the short-tails are almost as big as long-tails down here in Idaho. Our short-tails in Idaho are very small.

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731863
12/01/22 04:20 PM
12/01/22 04:20 PM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
E
Eagleye Offline
trapper
Eagleye  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
Interesting thread- found this on Ancestory.com
[Linked Image]

Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731871
12/01/22 04:27 PM
12/01/22 04:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
B
Boco Offline
trapper
Boco  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
The chart above is not quite accurate-Fisher is Martes,not Gulo.Gulo is wolverine.


Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
Re: Weasel [Re: Boco] #7731880
12/01/22 04:30 PM
12/01/22 04:30 PM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
E
Eagleye Offline
trapper
Eagleye  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
Originally Posted by Boco
The chart above is not quite accurate-Fisher is Martes,not Gulo.Gulo is wolverine.

Boco- I'd take your word over the internet

Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731883
12/01/22 04:32 PM
12/01/22 04:32 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,666
Idaho, Lemhi County
G
Gulo Offline
"On The Other Hand"
Gulo  Offline
"On The Other Hand"
G

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,666
Idaho, Lemhi County
You didn't read it close enough Rob. The chart is correct. The subfamily is Guloninae for Pekania (fisher) which used to be Martes pennanti.


Re: Weasel [Re: Gulo] #7731885
12/01/22 04:34 PM
12/01/22 04:34 PM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
E
Eagleye Offline
trapper
Eagleye  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 3,897
Wisconsin
Originally Posted by Gulo
You didn't read it close enough Rob. The chart is correct. The subfamily is Guloninae for Pekania (fisher) which used to be Martes pennanti.

Ok Boco- Since Gulo took his name from a Wolverine... I'm a fair-weather fan and standing with him grin

Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731887
12/01/22 04:36 PM
12/01/22 04:36 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,445
revillo, sd
C
cohunt Offline
trapper
cohunt  Offline
trapper
C

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,445
revillo, sd
Well, I have caught quite a few least weasels. The first specimens I positively identified were placed in a museum in 1964 where they remain today. More recently I have caught and placed least weasel skins for full body mounts, entire bodies for parasite examinations and full skeletons for mounts. Least weasels are indeed smaller than shorttails and much smaller than long tails BUT a large male least and small female shorttail are about the same size in Northern Wisconsin and South Dakota where I have trapped weasel for nearly 70 years, and thus size is not always determinate. The short tail without a black tip that characterizes a least does separate them. In addition, there are other differences such as body form and color that hold fairly true. The weasel in shanemoss's photo is colored much more like a least than a shorttail and in that photo the head appears more similar in shape to that of a least. He sent me several additional photos in which it appears that the weasel is a short tail based on tail length. For a good clear photo of a least in summer pelage, I will ask Law Dog to add one that he has a photo of.

Last edited by cohunt; 12/01/22 04:43 PM.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731888
12/01/22 04:37 PM
12/01/22 04:37 PM
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 11,441
Montana ,Rocky Mtns.
Sharon Offline
"American Honey"
Sharon  Offline
"American Honey"

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 11,441
Montana ,Rocky Mtns.
grin

Love those ermines

Re: Weasel [Re: Gulo] #7731890
12/01/22 04:39 PM
12/01/22 04:39 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
B
Boco Offline
trapper
Boco  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
OK got it.I I didnt know fisher were no longer Martes Pennanti.
Originally Posted by Gulo
Boco's correct. On the least, very short tail and no black tip. Usually very small. Overall size is not something you want to rely on for distinguishing the three weasel species. They vary greatly in size over their ranges. In interior Alaska, the short-tails are almost as big as long-tails down here in Idaho. Our short-tails in Idaho are very small.

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


Most of my weasels are incidentals in marten boxes,probably more than 90% are male Northern Shorttails.The very few females I get are very small in comparison to males.
I forget the term used for the difference in size between sexes,Maybe sexual dimorphism?


Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731925
12/01/22 05:42 PM
12/01/22 05:42 PM
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,120
Manitoba
N
Northof50 Offline
trapper
Northof50  Offline
trapper
N

Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,120
Manitoba
Gulo that female had her litter close by and was probably around her till early September.
female long-tails can be the same size as male ermine, but their skulls are different

think of all the weasels that Jackpine Savage would catch in a year.RIP
and that other guy that asked for his name to be removed because of Minn politics
many a kid got into weasel trapping with his threads

Re: Weasel [Re: Northof50] #7731958
12/01/22 06:36 PM
12/01/22 06:36 PM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,794
100 Mile House, BC Can
bctomcat Offline
trapper
bctomcat  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,794
100 Mile House, BC Can
WEASEL ID: Then key factor in identification of each is the tail length in relation to the body length.

Least: Smallest of the weasels, little more than mouse size. Has a very short tail (less than one quarter the combined head and body length nose to base of tail. Tail has no black tip.
Length (head, body & tail): Male 6 ½-8 ½ inches Female 6 ¼-7 ½ inches

Short Tail: Best identified by its black tipped tail that is less than half the combined length of the head and body length, nose to base of tail.
Length (head, body & tail): Male 12 ½-13 ¾ inches Female 9-10 ½ inches

Long Tail: The largest weasel. Tail is also black tipped, but is more than half the length of the combination of the head and body, nose to base of tail.
Length (head, body & tail): Male 16 ½-17 ¾ inches Female 12 ½- 13 ¾ inches

Last edited by bctomcat; 12/01/22 06:44 PM.

The only constant in trapping is change so keep learning.






Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731972
12/01/22 07:10 PM
12/01/22 07:10 PM
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 785
Labrador, Canada
C
crosspatch Offline
trapper
crosspatch  Offline
trapper
C

Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 785
Labrador, Canada
Least weasel hard to catch at least because so many conibear traps these days that they can slip by. Expect back in the day 0/knot traps would catch more, and number 1's too, as easier for a least to trigger. Might be harder to catch cause naturally scarcer too but can not say for sure.

Caught 2. One in mouse trap set for mice and baited with peanut butter in summer and the other in a rat trap purpose set for one I saw in a shed that had some moose bones in winter. No black tail tips either one and small. Not hard to tell if you watch for them. The old people here knew about them and called them "stoats" which is the old English name for weasels. Short tails, which we have here also, we always called weasels. We have no long tails.

Had one 5' away from me one time on a skidoo. It tried to cross path same time as I was going along. It came up to me and bounced around a bit and finally went back to the bush where it came from. Small and no black tail tip on an otherwise all white animal.

Last edited by crosspatch; 12/01/22 07:20 PM.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7731973
12/01/22 07:10 PM
12/01/22 07:10 PM
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,581
sometimes PA sometimes ME
E
ebsurveyor Offline
trapper
ebsurveyor  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,581
sometimes PA sometimes ME
First week of November Northern Maine.

[Linked Image]

Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732055
12/01/22 08:36 PM
12/01/22 08:36 PM
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 223
MN
M
MnJag Offline OP
trapper
MnJag  Offline OP
trapper
M

Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 223
MN
Thanks for all the good info so far. Anyone have any tips for skinning them? So small seems like it will be tedious. what kind of knife do you like and stuff like that. Had to set a couple more boxes out today.

Last edited by MnJag; 12/01/22 08:37 PM.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732061
12/01/22 08:40 PM
12/01/22 08:40 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,761
Central, SD
Law Dog Offline
trapper
Law Dog  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,761
Central, SD
A least the cats dragged in~
[Linked Image]


Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!

Jerry Herbst
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732073
12/01/22 08:48 PM
12/01/22 08:48 PM
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473
West Central MN
20scout Offline
trapper
20scout  Offline
trapper

Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473
West Central MN
Originally Posted by MnJag
Thanks for all the good info so far. Anyone have any tips for skinning them? So small seems like it will be tedious. what kind of knife do you like and stuff like that. Had to set a couple more boxes out today.

A #10 scaple works good.


Common sense is a not a vegetable that does well in everyone's garden.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732080
12/01/22 08:54 PM
12/01/22 08:54 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 610
Wisconsin
L
Lance Squires Offline
trapper
Lance Squires  Offline
trapper
L

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 610
Wisconsin
I like using a pointed scapel that's nice and sharp. Makes opening them easy. I try to make sure they're clean and blood free before I skin. I'll wash the ermine first, if necessary, dry it off and then skin.


57 years trapping. It's who I am. Every day is still as exciting as it was when I was a kid but a little more work.
Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732083
12/01/22 08:56 PM
12/01/22 08:56 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
B
Boco Offline
trapper
Boco  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,271
james bay frontierOnt.
Easy to skin and put up.
I just pin one back foot to the table with a push pin,pull the other foot,then make the opening cut.Then just proceed with the knee out skinning method by hand on the tabletop.


Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
Re: Weasel [Re: Law Dog] #7732134
12/01/22 09:44 PM
12/01/22 09:44 PM
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,120
Manitoba
N
Northof50 Offline
trapper
Northof50  Offline
trapper
N

Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,120
Manitoba
Originally Posted by Law Dog
A least the cats dragged in~
[Linked Image]

hard to tell with young of the year in the summer time as the Ermine are still growing.
There is something in their skull formation that separated them apart

Re: Weasel [Re: MnJag] #7732230
12/01/22 11:08 PM
12/01/22 11:08 PM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 431
central wisconsin
D
deerfly Offline
trapper
deerfly  Offline
trapper
D

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 431
central wisconsin
My kids and I enjoy catching them! Haven't targeted them in a few years but might toss some boxes out soon. My son is 2 1/2 now, about the age my daughter's enjoyed checking boxes! Seams to be more tracks this year than the last few.

[Linked Image]
My daughter's 7 years ago

[Linked Image]
Least weasel

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

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