Everything about The Stoat totally explained
The
stoat (
Mustela erminea) is a small
mammal of the family
Mustelidae. It is also known as the
short-tailed weasel and the
ermine.
Natural history
The stoat can be found almost everywhere throughout the northern temperate, subarctic and Arctic regions, of
Europe,
Asia, and
North America. It was introduced into
New Zealand in an unsuccessful attempt to control the
rabbit population and is considered a serious pest because it eats the eggs and young of native birds. It is also regarded as a major predator of adult female endemic birds that nest in cavities such as holes in trees. The stoat is considered to be the prime cause of the decline and/or extinction of a number of endemic New Zealand bird species. Stoats are largely
nocturnal or
crepuscular but will sometimes come out during the day.
Physical description
The stoat is a member of the family
Mustelidae, which also includes other weasels,
mink,
otters,
ferret,
badgers,
polecats, the
wolverine,
martens, the
tayra, the
fisher and in some taxonomical classifications
skunks. This is one of the most species-rich families in order Carnivora. The stoat moves in a sinuous manner when pursuing its prey extremely quickly over the ground considering its small size and is also a strong swimmer that's able to colonize offshore islands. Although it inhabits northern latitudes the stoat is built long and thin, leading to an increased surface area-to-volume ratio and increased dissipation of
heat from its body. The advantage of this shape is that it's one of the few species able to follow burrowing animals into their own homes. It partly compensates for this shape by having short
legs, small
ears, a fast
metabolism and, in winter, thick
fur. Stoats may grow up to 30 cm long, with males much larger than the females. In most areas it coexists with the
Least Weasel (
Mustela nivalis, also known as the European common weasel), and in this situation competition is reduced by the Least weasel, the smallest member of order Carnivora. Where the Least Weasel is absent the stoat is smaller (~70 g).
The stoat's coat is a rich medium brown with an off-white belly. In
winter, the coat is thicker and in regions that experience an inch or more of snow for at least forty days of the year (such as in
Armenia), the color changes to clean white. This white fur is known as "ermine", a term originating either from the Latin phrase "Armenius mūs" ("Armenian rat") or from a word common to the Germanic and Baltic languages, hence the scientific name. At this stage the stoat itself may be referred to as ermine, or as being "in ermine". The winter stoat has been used in art as a symbol of purity or virginity. The white fur was highly prized, and used in the robes of the
Lord Chief Justice of England. Both the animal and the heraldic tincture are symbols of
Brittany. The furs would be sewn together making a pattern of black dots. A version of this pattern is used in heraldry as
ermine tincture.
In all seasons the stoat has a black tip to its tail. The black tip probably serves as a decoy to predators, which would include almost any carnivore large enough to eat a stoat (for example wolves, foxes, wolverines, and some birds of prey). This kind of coat is very similar to the coat of the
long-tailed weasel (
Mustela frenata), a related animal of about the same size which also moults into white in the northern part of its range, and it's easy to confuse these kinds of weasels. The North American name for the stoat, the "Short-tailed weasel" arose because its tail length distinguishes it from the long-tailed weasel. In general it's found farther north. Both species can be distinguished from the
Least Weasel because the Least weasel always lacks a black tip on its tail.
Geographical range
The stoat is native to the area between the 40th parallel (north) and the beginning of the
Arctic Circle, which encompasses most of northern
Eurasia and
North America.
They have been introduced to
New Zealand and
Australia to control a
rabbit overpopulation but found an alternative source of food easier to catch thus leaving the rabbit problem unsolved. They were also brought to
Terschelling Island to control
water voles (
Arvicola terrestris). These accomplishments have landed them on the list of top 100 worst invasive species. It is possible that that'll spread to nearby islands, as the stoat can swim up to 1.5 kilometers across seawater and have already reached several New Zealand offshore islands unaided.
Maud Island which is 900 meters offshore has been invaded multiple times in the past 20 years. Such feats may allow them to spread to be moved up on "the list" if they make it to the far south of
Asia.
Diet
The stoat is a carnivore. It eats
insects,
rabbits;
rodents such as the
mouse,
vole and
rat; other small mammals;
birds and their
eggs and young; and sometimes
fish,
reptiles,
amphibians, and
invertebrates. It is a very skillful
tree climber and can descend a trunk headfirst, like a
squirrel. The stoat is capable of killing animals much larger than itself. When it's able to obtain more
meat than it can eat it'll engage in "surplus killing" and often stores the extra
food for later. When this is the case, it'll often kill by breaking the prey's neck without marking the body, presumably so its cache doesn't spoil easily. Like other
mustelids it typically dispatches its prey by biting into the base of the
skull to get at the centers of the
brain responsible for such important biological functions as
breathing. Sometimes it'll also make preliminary bites to other areas of the body. In most areas in which stoats and least weasels co-exist, the Least weasel generally takes smaller prey and the stoat slightly larger prey. The larger male stoats generally take larger prey than females. Commonly, the stoat falls prey to animals such as the wolf, fox, cat or badger.
Reproduction
The stoat is territorial and intolerant of others in its range, especially others of the same sex. Within its range, it typically uses several dens, often taken from
prey species. It usually travels alone, except when it's mating or is a mother with older offspring. It breeds once a year, producing several young kits (or kittens) per litter, and its mating system is promiscuous. Copulation occurs during the mating season with multiple partners and is often forced by the male, who doesn't help raise the offspring. Sometimes it occurs when the female is so young she hasn't even left the den. In spite of being such a small animal, the stoat's
gestation is among the longest reported for mammals (11
months) because of the adaptation of delayed implantation, or embryonic diapause, in which a fertilized egg isn't implanted in the
uterus until months later. The animal's "real" gestation is much shorter. This is presumably an adaptation to the highly seasonal environment in which the stoat lives.
Senses and behavior
Communication (and also location of prey) occurs largely by
scent, since the stoat as typical of mammals has a sensitive
olfactory system. As a result much of this communication is missed by human observers. However, stoats are believed to identify females in
estrus by scent, and also the sex, health and age of prey. Some kinds of rodents such as voles have counter-adapted by being able to shut down reproduction (which makes females slower and easier to catch) if they smell the odor of
mustelids. The stoat's visual resolution is lower than that of humans and
color vision is poor, although night vision is superior. Like most other non-primate mammals they've
dichromatic colour vision (they can distinguish long from short wavelengths of light, but can't make distinctions of hue within those bands). Tactile information is conferred by the
vibrissae, or whiskers. When alarmed, a stoat can release a powerful musky smell from glands near its anus.
Subspecies
- Mustela erminea
- Yellow-necked ermine Mustela erminea ? Range: Northern Shaanxi, China
- Mustela erminea alascensis
- Mustela erminea algiricus
- Mustela erminea anguinae
- Mustela erminea angustidens
- Mustela erminea Arctica
- Mustela erminea audax
- Mustela erminea bangsi
- Mustela erminea celenda
- Mustela erminea fallenda
- Mustela erminea ferghanae
- Mustela erminea gulosa
- Ermine haidarum Mustela erminea haidarum Range: Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
- Mustela erminea herminea
- Mustela erminea hibernica (Thomas and Barrett-Hamilton)
- Mustela erminea imperii
- Mustela erminea initis
- Mustela erminea invicta
- Mustela erminea kadiacensis
- Mustela erminea kanei
- Mustela erminea labiata
- Mustela erminea leptus
- Mustela erminea lymani
- Mustela erminea microtis
- Mustela erminea mortigena
- Ermine weasel Mustela erminea muricus
- Hondo stoat Mustela erminea nippon Range: Central and northern Honshū, Hondo Stoat
Japan
- Olympic ermine Mustela erminea olympica Range: Olympic Peninsula, Washington
- Ezo Stoat Mustela erminea orientalis Range: Hokkaidō, Japan; Japanese: ezo-itachi "Ezo weasel", okojo "stoat/weasel", shiro-ten "white marten"
- Mustela erminea polaris
- Mustela erminea pusilla
- Mustela erminea richardsonii
- Mustela erminea rixosa
- Mustela erminea salva
- Mustela erminea seclusa
- Mustela erminea semplei
- Mustela erminea streatori
- Mustela erminea vulgaris
- Mustela erminea whiteheadi
Stoats and the nobility
The skins of stoats were prized by the fur trade, especially in winter coat, and used to trim coats and stoles. The fur from the winter coat is referred to as "ermine". In Europe these furs were a symbol of royalty; the ceremonial robes of members of the
UK House of Lords are trimmed with ermine, though artificial fur is now used. The ermine was also considered a symbol of purity in Europe. In the
Renaissance era, legend had it that an ermine would die before allowing its pure white coat to be besmirched. When it was being chased by hunters, it would supposedly turn around and give itself up to the hunters rather than risk soiling itself.
Henry Peacham's
Emblem 75, which depicts an ermine being pursued by a hunter and two hounds, is entitled "Cui candor morte redemptus" or "Purity bought with his own death." Peacham goes on to preach that men and women should follow the example of the ermine and keep their minds and consciences as pure as the legendary ermine keeps its fur. In some Nordic countries the stoat is invoked as a symbol of curiosity and timely action. In some areas of
Japan, because of its adorable appearance and somewhat elusive nature it's still considered a symbol of good luck.
References in pop culture
In the book The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, stoats were among the occupiers of Toad Hall after Mr. Toad was imprisoned.
In the Redwall series, by Brian Jacques, stoats appear as antagonists in virtually every book.
In The Wild Thornberrys, a stoat was an antagonist in the episode Show Me The Bunny.
In the His Dark Materials series, by Philip Pullman, the main character's daemon frequently takes the form of an ermine.
In the anime/manga Negima the character Chamo is a talking Ermine. Also, being transformed into an ermine is a punishment for various crimes.
In the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, by Philip Ardagh, Even Madder Aunt Maud has a stuffed stoat she carries with her everywhere and calls Malcolm.
The popular website Cute Overload uses a stoat themed song to encourage voting.
Gallery
Image:Brehms Het Leven der Dieren Zoogdieren Orde 4 Hermelijn (Putorius erminea).jpg|Painting of Putorius erminea (Mustela erminea)
Image:Leonardo da Vinci 047.jpg|Painting (the animal is deemed a ferret rather than an ermine)
Image:Mustela.erminea.tracks.jpg|Tracks on snow
Image:Mustela erminea SK 02.jpg|Stoat in a tree
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stoat'.
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