STOAT
(stoht)
A
small mammal also known as the Short-tailed Weasel
Common
clues: Summer ermine; Brown ermine; Ermine in summer; Brown fur;
Ermine in brown; Animal with a black-tipped tail; Mink kin;
Short-tailed weasel
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
3 times a year
Frequency
in English language:
44411 / 86800
Video:
Family of
Stoats Playing
The
Stoat (Mustela
erminea)
is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae. In North America it
is also referred to as the Short-tailed Weasel. When in its white
winter coat, it is also called an Ermine.
It
is an opportunistic carnivore, and grows up to 30 cm long. It
eats rabbits; rodents such as the mouse, vole and rat; other
small mammals; birds and their eggs and young; and sometimes
fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. It is a very
skillful tree climber and can descend a trunk headfirst, like a
squirrel. The stoat is capable of killing animals much larger
than itself. When it is able to obtain more meat than it can eat
it will engage in "surplus killing" and often stores
the extra food for later. Like other mustelids it typically
dispatches its prey by biting into the base of the skull to get
at the centers of the brain responsible for such important
biological functions as breathing. Sometimes it will also make
preliminary bites to other areas of the body. In most areas it
coexists with the Least Weasel (Mustela
nivalis,
also known as the European common weasel), and in this situation
competition is reduced by the Least weasel, the smallest member
of order Carnivora, generally taking smaller prey and the stoat
slightly larger prey. Where the Least weasel is absent the stoat
is smaller (~70 g). Males are much larger than females and
generally take larger prey.
The
skins were prized by the fur trade, especially in winter coat,
and used to trim coats and stoles. The fur from the winter coat
is referred to as "ermine". In Europe these furs were a
symbol of royalty; the ceremonial robes of members of the UK
House of Lords are trimmed with ermine, though artificial fur is
now used. The ermine was also considered a symbol of purity in
Europe. In some areas of Japan, because of its adorable
appearance and somewhat elusive nature it is still considered a
symbol of good luck.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Stoat".
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