Weasels are mammals of the genus Mustela of the family Mustelidae. The genus Mustela includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodies and short legs. The family Mustelidae, or mustelids, is often referred to as the "weasel family". In the UK, the term "weasel" usually refers to the smallest species, the least weasel (M. nivalis), the smallest carnivoran species.
The stoat, also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The name ermine is used especially, in its pure white winter coat of the stoat or its fur. Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the United Kingdom House of Lords. It was also used in capes on images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague.
The Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at 16.7 million acres. Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which is managed by the United States Forest Service, encompasses islands of the Alexander Archipelago, fjords and glaciers, and peaks of the Coast Mountains. An international border with Canada runs along the crest of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The forest is administered from Forest Service offices in Ketchikan. There are local ranger district offices located in Craig, Hoonah, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Thorne Bay, Wrangell, and Yakutat.
Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between 55–125 km (34–78 mi) off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecate Strait. Queen Charlotte Sound lies to the south, with Vancouver Island beyond. To the north, the disputed Dixon Entrance separates Haida Gwaii from the Alexander Archipelago in the U.S. state of Alaska.
The European mink, also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe.
The Sitka deer or Sitka black-tailed deer is a subspecies of mule deer, similar to the Columbian black-tailed subspecies. Their name originates from Sitka, Alaska, and it is not to be confused with the similarly named sika deer. Weighing in on average between 48 and 90 kg, Sitka deer are characteristically smaller than other subspecies of mule deer. Reddish-brown in the summer, their coats darken to a gray-brown in mid- to late August. They are also good swimmers, and can occasionally be seen crossing deep channels between islands. Their average lifespan is about 10 years, but a few are known to have attained an age of 15.
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site, usually referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas, is located in southernmost Haida Gwaii, 130 kilometres off the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Gwaii Haanas protects an archipelago of 138 islands, the largest being Moresby Island and the southernmost being Kunghit Island. "Gwaii Haanas" means "Islands of Beauty" in X̱aayda kíl, a southern dialect of the Haida language.
The Colombian weasel, also known as Don Felipe's weasel, is a very rare species of weasel only known with certainty from the departments of Huila and Cauca in Colombia and nearby northern Ecuador. Both its scientific and alternative common name honours the mammalogist Philip "Don Felipe" Hershkovitz.
The Dawson's caribou, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou was a population of woodland caribou that once lived on Graham Island, the largest of the islands within the Haida Gwaii archipelago, located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.
The Guadeloupe raccoon is a common raccoon subspecies endemic to the two main islands of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles.
The Burmese whiskered myotis or Burmese whiskered bat is a species of vesper bat. It is found in China, India, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.
The Haida Gwaii black bear, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands black bear, is a morphologically distinct subspecies of the American black bear.
The Egyptian weasel is a unique population of the least weasel endemic to northern Egypt. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It was formerly considered a distinct species, as Mustela subpalmata.
Ermine may refer to three species of mustelid in the genus Mustela, or their fur:
The Pacific marten is a species of North American mammal, a member of the family Mustelidae. It is found throughout western North America.
Neogale is a genus of mustelid native to the Americas, ranging from Alaska south to Bolivia. Members of this genus are known as New World weasels.
The American ermine or American stoat is a species of mustelid native to most of North America.
The Socotran pipistrelle or Lanza's pipistrelle is an endangered species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to Socotra Island in Yemen, and is the only mammal thought to be endemic to the island.
