California
Mustela frenata  Alden M. Johnson, California Academy of Sciences | |
| Type of Animal: | Mammals |
|---|---|
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Federal Status: | |
| State Status: | |
| Occurrence: | |
| Habitat: | Forest,Scrubland,Farmland |
| Description: | Long-tailed weasels can be identified by their long, thin bodies and triangular heads. They are usually brown on top and yellowish on bottom. They have short legs and, as the name suggests, a long tail that usually has a black tip. Long-tailed weasels live in dens, but they rarely construct their own. They typically live in the abandoned dens of squirrels, moles, and gophers. Within the den it constructs a nest lined with the fur from various prey species. The long-tailed weasel diet consists mainly of voles, but they will also eat other small mammals (rabbits, chipmunks, etc.), birds (and bird eggs!), and insects. They usually wrap their entire body around the prey in order to kill it. When food is especially abundant (such as on a farm), long-tailed weasels will kill multiple animals and store the excess for future use. The breeding season occurs in July and August. Like other members of the mustelid family, long-tailed weasels have delayed implantation so that the young are not born until 200-330 days later. Females have only one litter of one to eight young per year. Females begin mating when they are less than one year old, but males do not begin mating until their second year. The females care for the young for up to eight weeks, at which time the young disperse to find their own territories. The main predators of long-tailed weasels are hawks, owls, snakes, and large mammals such as coyotes and mountain lions. Occasionally these animals are hunted, although the pelt of this species is not as valuable as the pelts of some of the other species in this family. |
| Effort: | |
| References: | Jameson et al. 1988. California Mammals. Wilson et al. (editors). 1999. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Whitaker (editor). 1998. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals, Revised Edition. Zeiner et al. (editors). 1990. California’s Wildlife, Volume III, Mammals. |
| Other Sites: | Information and links to more (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) |
| Field Office(s): | Bakersfield; Eagle Lake; Mother Lode; Palm Springs; Redding; Ukiah |