A white weasel in winter is hard to see. Photo via Flickr.

Have you seen any weasels lately? Maybe an all white short-tailed or long-tailed weasel this winter?  Here are some neat facts about this crafty little animal that lives in the Rocky Mountains.

Honestly, I haven’t seen weasels much in my life.  The only one I’ve seen in the wild was about 5 years ago outside my house in Salt Lake City.  One winter as I was shoveling snow I caught a glimpse of motion in the side of my vision.  I glanced that way and saw a small animal running along the side of the house.  It quickly disappeared and I never saw it again, but  I remember being surprised that it could be out and about during winter.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I have since figured out that it was a weasel.

Photo via Flickr.

8 Facts About Long-Tailed and Short-Tailed Weasels

There are two types of weasels in the Rocky Mountains, the short-tailed and long-tailed weasel.  Both of these look almost the same with the main difference being the length of the tail.

Both weasels are another small mammal that adapts to survive winter in the Rocky Mountains.  During the summer they are brownish, but in winter they change to being all white with a black tip on their tail.  That black tip on the tail is how I finally figured out what that animal I saw in my yard was.  I remembered seeing an all white animal scurrying along with a black tip on its tail.

This short-tailed weasel may look cute, but it is a lethal hunter.

These little mammals are very good hunters.  They will hunt and catch a wide variety of prey, but their main food source are mice and voles.  They will also catch frogs, rabbits, birds and insects.

Weasels hunt and catch food both during the day and at night.  This means they are one of the few animals that aren’t exclusively nocturnal or diurnal.

Look at what this one caught.

They are great at both climbing and swimming.  This makes them a formidable hunter as they can cross a stream or climb a tree to catch their prey.  In addition, they are actually very fast and agile.

Not only will they catch and eat animals smaller than themselves, but they can kill animals twice as big as them.

They have long, thin bodies and very flexible backs.  This type of body allows them to enter into the dens of rodents and catch them.  In fact, they have an incredible ability to squeeze and squirm into the tiniest of spaces.

Long-tailed and short-tailed weasels are a very common animal and live throughout most of North America.  Despite that, they are still surprisingly hard to see.