Field Guide
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Weasel
Mustela nivalis
Not yet photographed by the community
Britain's smallest carnivore; explosively fast and fierce.
Species Profile
Green List (Least Concern); stable UK population
- Lifespan
- 4–6 years in the wild, up to 8 years in captivity
- Size & Weight
- 17–27 cm body length; 70–340 g (females smaller than males)
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, moorlands, hedgerows, farmland, and woodland edges throughout the UK, favouring areas with rough ground and rodent populations.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread and resident throughout mainland Britain and Ireland, including remote upland regions. Population densities fluctuate with rodent availability.
- Diet
- Carnivorous, feeding almost exclusively on small rodents and other small mammals, with occasional birds, insects, and eggs.
- Prey
- Wood mice, bank voles, field voles, shrews, rabbits (young), and occasionally birds and their eggs
- Predators
- Owls (particularly barn owls and tawny owls), buzzards, foxes, and domestic cats
- Mating Season
- March to September, with peak activity April to July
- Breeding
- Single to three litters per year of 4–8 kits; gestation period approximately 35 days; kits weaned at 5–6 weeks
- Behaviour
- Weasels are solitary, highly active hunters with rapid metabolisms requiring frequent feeding. They are territorial and aggressive towards rivals, using scent-marking to maintain boundaries. Despite their small size, they are formidable predators with quick reflexes and the ability to pursue prey into burrows.
- •Weasels are the smallest carnivoran in Britain and among the world's smallest mustelids
- •They can kill prey larger than themselves using a characteristic bite to the back of the skull
- •Their long, slender bodies allow them to pursue rodents into their burrows and tunnel systems
- •A weasel must eat approximately one-third of its body weight daily to maintain energy levels
- •They are legally protected in the UK and cannot be trapped or killed without specific licences, even on farmland
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