Related Biomes
Ermine
Mustela erminea
The ermine, or short-tailed weasel, is a circumpolar species that is native to the northern temperate regions of North America, Europe and Asia, and it is one of three species of weasels that occur in North America. Ermine are small, quick and extremely efficient predators that specialize in rodents and rabbits. As with other weasels, they are well-known for their curiousity, boldness and courage. These animals prefer cooler climates, and their recovery from Late Pleistocene deposits south of their current range serves as a good indicator of cooler conditions during this time period.
Ermine, or short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea). Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, By Steve Hillebrand.
Length: males 19-33 cm (7.5-13.0 in) body, 7.5-10 cm (3.0-3.9 in) tail; females 17-27 cm (6.7-10.6 in) body, 6.5-10.5 cm (2.6-4.1 in) tail
Weight: 56-206 g (2.0-7.3 oz)
Physical Description:
As with other members of the weasel family, the ermine has a long, skinny body, short legs, a long neck with a flat, triangular head, bright black eyes, rounded, protruding ears and long whiskers. In summer its body fur is reddish brown on top and creamy white underneath, whereas in winter it is completely white. This animal has a long tail with a bushy black tip, which distinguishes it from the least weasel (M. nivalis). The soles of an ermine's feet are covered in dense hair during winter, which provides protection from snow, and only a small portion of the foot pad is exposed in summer.
Ermine are typically found in the habitats of their preferred prey (e.g., rabbits, voles, small rodents). They tend to avoid dense forest and desert habitats, and instead occupy the marshes, alpine meadows, riverbanks, woodlands and hedgerows that are rich in small mammals (King 1983). They are well adapted to snowy areas and range above treeline in alpine areas.
Ermine are carnivores that prey primarily on small mammals, such as rabbits, voles and small rodents. When preferred prey are scarce, they will hunt birds (and their eggs), frogs, and insects. They will also prey on domestic poultry when rodents are scarce.
Ermine are solitary animals outside of mating season. Each animal establishes a home range that is vigilantly guarded. A male home range may overlap with that of one or two female ranges, but will exclude ranges of other males. Individuals use scent markings to establish and communicate range boundaries. Ermine move rapidly within their range and will investigate every hole and crevice encountered. They often stop to survey surroundings by raising their head or standing on their hindlegs. Although primarily terrestrial, ermine are good swimmers, and they can climb trees to great heights, where they may raid the nests of birds and squirrels. These animals typically hunt at night during the winter months, and may be more active during daylight hours during the summer (Svendsen 2003). They will often seek prey in underground tunnels and runways or burrow beneath the snow to hunt. These animals are efficient hunters who kill their prey with a single bite to the neck, although it has been reported that rabbits usually die of shock, rather than the actual bite (Hewson and Healing 1971). Ermine kill whenever they have the chance and cache surplus prey for future needs. They often commandeer the nests of recent prey and improve the warmth and insulation of the nest by lining it with fur and feathers from previous meals (King 1983). These nests may be in hollow trees, rock piles or burrows.
Currently, ermine are found across most of Canada and the northern U.S., although they are absent from the Great Plains. During the Wisconsinan period of glaciation, these animals occurred as far south as Texas, and they have been recovered from sites in the Applachian mountains of Virginia and West Virginia - an area from which they are noteably absent today (Kurtén and Anderson 1980; Neotoma Database).
In most cases, ermine followed the retreating glaciers northward at the end of the Pleistocene. A few groups did become stranded on isolated high mountaintops in the Great Basin, where they are found today. These animals are also currently found in the upper Great Lakes region, an area that was covered by ice during most of the terminal Pleistocene.
Ermine remains have been recovered from late Pleistocene sites across the Midwest, including from the Sheriden Pit site in northern Ohio and the Prairieburg site in eastern Iowa.
- Ermine were deliberately introduced to New Zealand in 1884 in an effort to control the population explosion of the previously introduced European rabbit, which were decimating local sheep pastures. Unfortunately, the plan backfired and the newly introduced ermine focused instead on hunting the native ground-nesting birds, particularly kiwi chicks (MacDonald, 2005).
- Historically, ermine have been important to the fur industry and were harvested by trappers in Russia and Canada for their winter white pelts, which were used to make fur coats, stoles, and even the royal robes of the British monarchy.
Hewson, R. and T. D. Healing. 1971. The stoat, Mustela erminea, and its prey. Journal of Zoology 164:239-244.
King, C. M. 1983. Mustela erminea. Mammalian Species 195:1-8.
Svendsen, G. E. 2003. Weasels and Black-footed Ferret. In Wild Mammals of North America, edited by Feldhamer, G. A., and B. C. Thompson, 650-661. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
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