Yes, it's the little white guy again

Just over a week ago, on 24 November 2014, I called in at Fish Creek Park to see if there was any sign of the Long-tailed Weasel. It did come out, but for maybe five minutes total, running around at top speed. I managed to get three or four shots, including this one, but that was all. Not the best composition, but usually there is no time to compose - you just point and click rapidly and hope that one photo will come out OK.

Since then, I’ve called in maybe three or four times recently, but there has been no sign of the Weasel and no tracks in the snow. I wonder if s/he is tucked down in its den, surrounded by all the many dead Meadow Voles that we have seen it catch recently. Weasels line their nests/dens with the fur from the animals they kill. Hopefully, it has not provided the nearby Great Horned Owl pair with a supper or two!

"Counting its tail, a large Long-tailed Weasel male, the largest of the three species in Canada, stretches nearly half a metre (20 in) in length, yet can slip into a hole just 3 cm (1.25 in) across. This enables it to enter small rodent tunnels used by mice and voles. In summer, it enters ground squirrels burrows in search of its favourite food. Average males measure 406 mm (16 in), their tail is 135 mm (5.25) long and they weigh 225 g (12.6 oz). Males are approximately 25 per cent larger than females, which on average weigh only 102 g (5.7 oz).

When winter approaches, within 30 days it grows a coat of white, giving it perfect camouflage against the snow -- all except for the tip of its tail, which stays black. A hungry predator, such as a hawk or owl, aims for that black tip, enabling the weasel to escape. Towards spring, between late February and April, in only 25 days, it reverses the process, acquiring the cinnamon-brown topcoat it will use all summer. This includes brown feet, unlike the other two species which retain white feet. The underside is usually buff-coloured." (Taken from the old weaselhead.org website).

“The long-tailed weasel mates in July–August, with implantation of the fertilized egg on the uterine wall being delayed until about March. The gestation period lasts 10 months, with actual embryonic development taking place only during the last four weeks of this period, an adaptation to timing births for spring, when small mammals are abundant. Litter size generally consists of 5–8 kits, which are born in April–May.” From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_weasel