And they are occasional cannibals!<\/p>\n
Previously I posted two images from this encounter with a cannibalistic weasel at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.\u00a0 These three photos are new to my blog.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"long](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/long-tailed-weasel-4844-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This weasel had killed one of its kin and was trying to run with the body along the road at the refuge.\u00a0 It was having a very difficult time carrying that long corpse through all the vegetation, which was probably the only thing that slowed it down enough for me to manage a few photos.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"long](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/long-tailed-weasel-4842-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
One time it stopped momentarily to rest and stared intensely at me with those penetrating, beady eyes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"long](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/long-tailed-weasel-4840-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
It was virtually impossible to get unobstructed views and good focus\u00a0through all the vegetation but I thought this shot well illustrated the grasp the weasel had on the throat of the other weasel.<\/p>\n
I’m primarily a bird photographer\u00a0so I find it ironic that my number one “nemesis species” doesn’t have feathers – the Long-tailed Weasel.\u00a0 I’m constantly on the lookout for them but I’ve only had a few opportunities with them in the last 7 years of photography.\u00a0 Hopefully that pathetic track\u00a0record will soon improve.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
Note:\u00a0 A comment on a later weasel post by Master Falconer Mark Runnels brings into question my assertion\u00a0that some of the photos here were related to cannibalism.\u00a0\u00a0Marks fascinating comment is below:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know anything about weasels, but we keep their close relative, ferrets, to hunt with our Harris\u2019 hawks. If the rabbit goes into a hole in the ground, or more commonly, into a piece of oilfield pipe, we can send the ferret down to get it moving again.<\/em><\/p>\n Several years ago, when I was in college (yikes! that was 25 years ago!) I decided that I wanted to breed my jill (female) and raise a litter of kits. The owner of the male tried to warn me not to watch, but I was interested in anything related to ferret biology, so I stuck around. Ferret breeding is a violent business! The much larger hob (male) male grabbed my jill by the scruff of the neck neck and beat her head against the hardwood floor, furniture, or any other hard surface he could find. This continued for several minutes until she was completely unconscious after which time he drug her limp body around the room for several minutes before finding a quiet corner and copulating with her several times. Once she regained consciousness, the two carried on as though nothing unusual had happened. I am not usually squeamish, but I could never again breed one of my jills and started having them spayed. Natural or not, I didn\u2019t have the stomach to watch that again! I have since learned that this behavior is normal and is typical of minks as well, but not skunks.<\/em><\/p>\n Why am I sharing this disturbing behavior with you? I got to wondering it the cannibalistic weasel in your earlier post had really killed one of its kin and was carrying it off to be eaten, or is it possible that the breeding habits of the weasel are similar to the ferret and this was a male that had knocked out a female and was dragging her off to breed with the unconscious body in a quiet location somewhere?<\/em><\/p>\n As I said, I know nothing about weasel biology, but it is an interesting question.<\/em><\/p>\n Thanks for the great pictures.<\/em><\/p>\n Mark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Long-tailed Weasels are elusive and fascinating critters.\u00a0 Some interesting information about them might include the following: sexually dimorphic, females 10 to 15% smaller than males the name is appropriate as the length of their tail can equal up to 70% of the head and body length eyes are black in daylight but glow a bright, emerald-green in a spotlight at night like other mustelids, have anal scent glands that produce a liquid with a strong, musky odor go through delayed implantation, they mate in July-Aug but implantation (and growth) of fertilized egg into uterine wall is delayed until March but after implantation the embryo develops for only 4 weeks before birth.\u00a0 This timing allows for birth in spring when prey is abundant. are obligate carnivores, prefer prey fresh\u00a0or alive, seldom eat carrion aggressive and fearless hunters, often killing prey much larger than themselves with a bite to the neck favorite prey includes mice, rats, chipmunks, squirrels, moles, shrews, rabbits and chickens are “surplus killers”, often killing more than they can consume And they are occasional cannibals! Previously I posted two images from this encounter with a cannibalistic weasel at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.\u00a0 These three photos are new to my blog. This weasel had killed one of its kin and was trying to run with the body along the road at the refuge.\u00a0 It was having a very difficult time carrying that long corpse through all the vegetation, which was probably the only thing that slowed it down enough for me to manage…<\/p>\n