Mink
Mink are usually a rich dark or russet brown with a white chin and white spots on the throat and breast. They have a long body and neck with short legs and a long tail. Their heads are also short and they have a pointed muzzle. Male mink usually weigh between 2 and 4 pounds and stand 5 to 6 inches at the shoulder. Females are roughly half the size of males.
Mink hunt on land and in the water. They primarily prey upon fish, snowshoe hare, rodents, birds, and insects. In coastal areas they will also eat crustaceans and fish or muskrats trapped in tidal pools.
Breeding occurs March through April with young born in April or May. Litters average five kits, and the newborns are only four or five inches long. They are weaned at five weeks old. Families break up in the summer and mink are solitary until the breeding season.
Least Weasel
The least weasel is the smallest living carnivore. Least weasels are dark brown with light underparts in the summer, and characteristically turn white during the winter. They do retain a few black, brown, and white hairs on their tail during all seasons. Least weasels are much smaller than short-tailed weasels, averaging only 8 to 10 inches long and weighing around 3 ounces.
Least weasels prey mostly on mice and voles, but will also eat birds, fish, other small mammals, and insects. Because of their small body size and high metabolism, they eat 40 percent or more of their body weight in food each day.
Young are born almost anytime of the year, and litters range from 3 to 10, but 4 to 5 is the usual litter size.
Short-tailed Weasel
In the summer, short-tailed weasels appear chocolate brown on the back and sides with yellowish-white underparts. In winter they become snow white, but their tail remains distinctly black year-round. In winter, the white short-tailed weasel is also called the ermine. Short-tailed weasels have a long, thin body with short legs. They typically grow to between 14 and 16 inches long, weighing seven ounces.
Short-tailed weasels are adept predators and prey upon small mammals such as shrews and mice. They will also eat birds, eggs, young hares, insects, and fish. Their high metabolism requires them to consume nearly half their weight in food daily.
Breeding occurs June through August and young are born April through May. Litter size ranges from 4 to 8 , and the young open their eyes when they are 30-45 days old.
Resources:
Burt, William H. and Richard P. Grossenheider. 1980. Peterson field guide to mammals. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston Massachusetts.
Alaska Geographic Society. 1996. Mammals of Alaska: a comprehensive field guide from the publishers of Alaska geographic. The Alaska Geographic Society. Anchorage Alaska.
For more information, visit the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's wildlife notebook mink page or weasels page.
