WEASELS, ERMINE, MINKS AND MARTENS

WEASELS, ERMINE, MINKS AND SABLES

Weasels, minks and sables are all very similar and have similar characteristics and behavior. Minks and sables live primarily in northern regions of North America, Asia and Europe and produce highly-prized fur used in coats and stoles. Weasels are found in more southern areas and have shorter fur. Nowadays furs are out of fashion in North America and Europe but are still popular in Russia and have become popular in China.

Ermine—also called stoat, short-tailed weasel, or Bonaparte weasel—is a northern weasel species that turn white in the winter. Widely distributed across northern North America and Eurasia, ermines are most abundant in thickets, woodlands, and semi-timbered areas. These slender, agile, voracious mammals measure 13 to 29 centimeters (5 to 12 inches) in head and body length. The term “ermine” also describes the animal’s pelt was used historically in royal robes and crowns in Europe. [Source: Encyclopedia Britannica]

Weasels, ferrets, minks, sables, martens and polecats are closely related. They belong to the musteleid (or weasel) family, which also includes otters, badgers, wolverines, and skunks. There are much fewer sables and minks than fox, which are all prized in the fur industry. These days minks are raised on farms. In the old days they were caught by trappers. Because they don’t breed well in captivity sables are still largely caught by trappers and hunters.

Weasels

Weasels belong to the Order Carnivora and the Family Mustelidae. Although they are small in size they are fearless predators that will eat just about any small animal they can catch. They are mostly nocturnal but are sometimes seen in the day. [Source: Richard Conniff, Smithsonian]

There are ten weasel species. The most well known ones are the short-tailed weasel (also known as ermine or stoat), the least weasel (indigenous to Europe and Asia and introduced to North America and New Zealand), the long-tailed weasel (found mostly in North America). Stoats are similar to weasels. are common the British Isles.

Weasels rarely live more than a year. They are small, long and slender. They range in length from 13 centimeters to 30 centimeters (5 inches to 12 inches) and usually weigh less than half a kilograms (12 ounces). They have short legs, broad flat heads, long necks and powerful jaw muscles and long, sharp canine teeth. Males are generally 25 to 35 centimeters in length not including the tail and weigh up half a kilogram. Females are usually less than half this size.

Like their relative the skunk, weasels posses an anal gland that can spray a nasty smelling liquid that is not as bad as that of skunk but still pretty bad. The spray is used primally as a last measure of defense.

Martens

Martens are a member of the weasel family. Various species of marten live in the northern latitudes of Europe, Russia, Asia and North America. Marten species include pine martens, black marten (also known as fisher or pekan martens) and stone marten. The black marten is the second largest marten. It is from two to three feet long and has a foot-long bushy black-tipped tail.

Martens have long, slender bodies and short heads. Their outer fur us long and glossy. Some martens live in trees and leap from branch or branch like squirrels. Some spend most of their time on the ground.

Yellow-Throated Martens

Yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula) are also known as kharza. They live in forested regions throughout Southern and Eastern Asia. Their range extends throughout the Himalayas, as far west as Pakistan and Afghanistan, into Southeast Asia, as far south as Sumatra, Borneo and Java in Indonesia, and as far north as the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese-Russian border. They occupy a variety of habitats, preferring mixed forests composed of spruce and broad-leaved trees and coniferous taiga forests in the northern part of their range. In southern part of their range, in Northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal, they inhabit lowland swamps and marshes as well as treeless mountains. They live at elevations from sea level to 3000 meters (0.00 to 9842.52 feet). Little is known about the lifespan of yellow-throated martens in the wild. One individual lived 16 years in captivity. [Source: Marcus Shak, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Yellow-throated martens are omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). Animal foods include birds, small mammals (squirrels, hares, mouse-like rodents, etc.), amphibians, reptiles, fish, eggs. insects and mollusks. Among the plant foods they eat are seeds, grains, nuts and fruit. Unlike other martens, yellow-throated martens do not eat carrion. Their diet varies depending on location and season. In the northern part of their range, they prey upon musk deer, which they hunt in groups by surrounding the prey and attack it from different directions. They often chase prey onto frozen lakes and rivers where they are easier to kill. Because they rely on musk deer as a prey source, the population of yellow-throated martens tends to rise and fall with musk deer populations. In warmer and lower-elevation areas yellow-throated martens more frequently consume lizards, rodents and fruits. When both are available in abundance they favor fruit over rodents. This preference for fruit has not been observed in any other marten. /=\

Yellow-throated martens are not endangered. They are considered a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to their wide distribution and stable populations throughout Asia. They are protected in Myanmar, Malaysia, and China. One subspecies, yellow-throated martens chrysospila (Formosan yellow-throated marten) is considered endangered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Yellow-throated martens in India are also listed on Appendix III of CITES. Unlike other mustelids, the fur of yellow-throated martens is not valuable enough to justify the trouble of hunting and trapping them. They have no natural predators, and they generally compete with other predators for food. In some regions, yellow-throated martens prey upon sables, a valuable fur-bearing animals but yellow-throated martens population levels are not high enough to have a negative impact on the fur industry. /=\

Minks

Minks are among the most well known fur-bearing animals. They produce a luxurious, warm fur and are found primarily in the Canada, Russia, Alaska and Scandinavia. European minks are slightly smaller than the American minks and have a white upper lip. The Siberian mink has tawny brown fur.

Minks are small, long-bodied and slender. The are generally around about two feet in length, including a bushy eight-inch tail, and usually weigh less than 1 kilogram. They have short legs, small ears, broad flat heads, long necks and powerful jaw muscles. Minks live five to six years.

Minks live along the banks and streams and ponds and in forests and plains. They are skillful tree climbers and swimmers. When cornered minks fight very fiercely. Like skunk and weasels, minks posses a gland that can release a nasty smell. Mink females give birth and raise their young in nests prepared in hollow logs, or holes among rocks. Females produce about one liter a year with five or six young although there may be from three to ten.

Minks hunt prey on land and in water. Their primary prey is rodents such as rabbits, rats, musk rats, voles and mice. They also eat birds, frogs, fish, grubs, eggs and insects. Minks are viscous animals that get pleasure from killing animals and kill even when not hungry. They are one of the few animals that routinely kill animals much larger than themselves.

"The mink is an extremely efficient vole-killer," Nick Mott, of the Otter and Water Vole Project in Britain told the Washington Post. "The strategies that work for the water vole against other predators don't stop the mink. A female mink can squirm down those burrows and reach the vole and her cubs. And your mink, now, she won't stop feeding until she's wiped out every vole within her range."

Mink fur is thick and soft and has a beautiful sheen. Minks have long, stiff, shiny guard hairs. The minks of northern regions have the darkest and most lustrous fur. They do not change color in winter. Most minks used to make fur garments are raised in fur farms. Careful breeding has produced black, black and white, platinum and silver-blue mink. On average a full length mink coat requires 60 to 70 skins to make. Blending is used in mink furs.

Sables

The Siberian sable marten is the source of expensive and sumptuous sable fur. They are found almost exclusively in Siberia. Other kinds of sables or martens include the American marten, Chinese sable, American sable, baum marten, Japanese marten and stone marten. Sables are members of the mustelid (or weasel) family.

Sables don't breed well in captivity although some are raised on farms and ranches but of their farm-raised sable is regarded as low quality. They are generally hunted or trapped. and their pelts often sell for more that $1000 a piece. The most valuable fabric in the Renaissance was Russian sable. Worth more than Persian silk, Indian calico, French-worked damask, it was sold mostly from warehouses in Arkhangelsk, northern Russia. Czar crowns were trimmed with sable.

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Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, U.S. government, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated May 2016