(Last Updated On: April 15, 2021)

Weasels are not dangerous for human unless the mammals are not attacked, and usually escape from human touch. It is one of the shortest mammals on earth. The long-tailed weasel is cunning and very smart for prey. Among other skills, they are good climbers, swimmers, night watchers, runners, burrow diggers, and raiders in other burrows for hunt. They have several species, the long tail weasel is one of them.

The long-tailed weasel, bridled weasel or big stoat, is a species of mustelid with its scientific name Mustela frenata. The weasel is endemic all over the world, from southern Canada to the USA and Mexico, Central America, northern South America, as well as in Asia.

Long-tailed weasel profile

This article will give an overview of the long-tailed weasel, its habitat, facts, tracks, diet, skull, winter, size, range, lifespan, predators.

There are far differences between the long tail with the short tail weasels in larger body shape, longer tail, and the deeper color.


In the Western Hemisphere, they are endemic for many reasons. You would be able to find the long-tail weasel frequently in most of North America, north of the United States-Canadian border as well as in south to Central America to northern South America.

Some of the Asian countries are also a good habitat for them.

Long-tailed weasel Description

Long-tailed weasel has an extended slender body and head, that allows them to easily enter in the burrows and chase any rodent very smoothly. With the slim body, the weasel stands out a fast runner and camouflages the enemy as well as the prey.

In common, males are bigger than females and sometimes they are found roaming around in a group. Yet, they are mostly a solitary mammal and loves to move around all through day and night.

The size of the body is 300–350 mm (12–14 in) whereas the tail comprising 40–70% of the body size.

These weasels have long, bushy tails that make up about 50% of their whole body size. Because of the long tail, and that is how it gets the name.

Long-tailed weasels have a small, slim, slender head with long whiskers and fastest possible 4 legs. Their fur consists of quick, comfortable underfur coated by shiny guard hair.

This species is male-dominated and the size of the male is 10–15% larger than females. Male is physically stronger than female.

The long-tailed weasel weighs between Three and 9 ounces (85-267 g) with males being about twice as giant because of the females.

The eyes are black in daylight, however, glow shiny emerald green when caught in a highlight in the evening. They have a sharp eye and a deep, cunning look.

Body Scent

The long-tailed weasel has well-developed anal scent glands, which produce a powerful and musky odor.

Unlike the short tail weasels, the long-tailed weasel drags and rubs its body over surfaces to excrete the scent.

This is a particular smell to define the territory as well as attract partners before breeding, deceive predator, or be frightened.


They are solitary, noisy mammal, and loves to roam around and prey alone, sometimes at night. They uphold their energy all day long, but mostly in the morning and in the evening.

They are cunning and can be very aggressive in from of danger, as well as the competitors. The long-tailed weasel is fast, agile, and alert animals. They’re glorious climbers and swimmers.

By selecting by the smell, sound, or other code, long-tailed weasel hunts its prey. They then observe the animal and make a fast assault. They kill their prey by a fast chew on the base of the cranium.

Fur, Color, and shed

The dorsal fur is brown in the summer season, whereas the underparts are whitish and tinged with yellowish or buffy brown from the chin to the inguinal area.

The tail has a definite black tip. The long-tailed weasel in Florida and the southwestern US might have facial markings of white or yellowish color.

During winter, the long-tailed weasel’s fur turns into white, typically with yellow tints, however, the tail retains its black tip.

The long-tailed weasel molts twice yearly, as soon as in autumn (October to mid-November) and as soon as in spring (March–April). This is a process by which the mammal sheds its old feathers, hair, as well as skin in order to make way for new growth. In this way, the mammal never gets pale and gloomy.

Every molt takes about 3–4 weeks to regrow, the molting process is controlled by the pituitary gland. The long-tailed weasel’s pads are bare in the summer season.

They’re cinnamon-brown in shade with white below elements which have a yellow tinge to make the outlook much variable. A long-tailed weasel has a black tip to their tail, even of their all-white winter part.

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Temperate and tropical places are most favorites for the mammal. Long-tail weasels live in the burrows, crack of the dilapidated building, graveyards, crop fields to small wooded areas to suburban areas.

The forest which is mostly bushy or overwhelmed with trees is not a popular place for them.

The burrows and nests they made are mostly in the hollow logs, rock piles, under barns, or in the buckle. It is a common issue that the long-tailed weasels take over the burrow of one of their prey, instead of making a new home fr them.


Mating for long-tailed weasels happens within the mid-summer months.

After copulation, the female has a gestation period of 180 days.

The number of litter is one having up to 5-8 infants in it.

The kits are born blind, naked, and red in color, and by the age of 4-5 weeks, the kits have their eyes, started to fur, and can crawl out of the nest.

They can also eat meat at that time apart from mother’s milk. The kits weigh 21–27 grams at this age.

The earlier days in the outer world for the kits are not safe because of their vulnerability. Predators like giant owls, coyotes, or giant snakes, massasauga rattlesnakes lurk out there to catch the infants.


The primary prey of long-tailed weasels is small rodents like white-footed mice and meadow voles.

Females, Females can catch the rodent by entering the rodent’s burrow with the slender body.

Its main prey consists of mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, shrews, moles, and rabbits.

Sometimes, it might eat small birds, fowl eggs, reptiles, amphibians, fish, earthworms, and a few bugs. The species has additionally been noticed to take bats to form nursery colonies.


Males pursue bigger animals, eastern cottontails, birds, crayfish, snakes. In the summertime, their weight loss program consists of fruits and berries.

The long-tailed weasel is a cunning, intelligent, fearless, and aggressive hunter that can assault animals far bigger than itself. It grabs the closest a part of the animal and climbs upon its body, on its feet.

When stalking, it waves its head back and forth to be able to choose up the scent of its prey.

When found, it silently approaches and holds the neck or throat suddenly and paralyzes the hunt with their sharp teeth.

It also frequently hunts small prey, similar to mice, by speeding at them and kills them with one chew to the top.

With giant prey, similar to rabbits, the long-tailed weasel strikes shortly, taking its prey off guard in the wink of eyes.

After finishing they left the prey uneaten and don’t preserve for the next time.

With small prey, additionally, the fur, feathers, flesh, and bones are consumed, however, just some flesh is eaten from giant prey.

When stealing eggs, the long-tailed weasel removes every egg from its nest one by one, then carries it in its mouth to a protected location, and licks out the contents or if they’ve infants within the den, the parent weasel carries food for them.


The average lifespan of the long tail weasels is 8 to 10 years.

However, many long-tailed weasels perish earlier than reaching the first year of their life because of the predator, lack of food, and loss of habitat.

Since they are full of stamina, they might reside for a number of years, as soon as they’ve reached their maturity.


Among themselves, the long tail weasels use several tricks and techniques in order to communicate.

The long-tailed weasel talks amongst themselves with visible, sound, and scent cues.

Before mating, females emit a beautiful scent. Body language and sounds are used to speak when weasels confront one another.

The long-tailed weasel has well-developed senses of sight, listening to, and scent, which permits them to be environment friendly and delicate predators.

By using them, they also mark their territory as well ad fight one another (mostly among males).

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