Louise Caputo, age 9, of Akron, Ohio, for her question:
WHAT DO WEASELS EAT?
Weasels are small furry animals with long, slender bodies and short legs. Native to every continent of the world except Australia and Antarctica, weasels eat mice, squirrels, earthworms, frogs, lizards, rabbits, shrews, snakes and small birds.
Weasels have sharp senses of smell and keen sight. They are excellent hunters. They move quickly and catch animals their own size or larger for foood. They cut the victim's spinal column with one or two strong, swift bites at the base of the skull.
Often weasels raid farms and kill more chickens then they need for food. As a result, many farmers dislike weasels even though they destroy farmyard pests.
The weasel's slim body and short legs enable it to hunt in a narrow openings of stone walls, under logs and rocks and in rodent burrows. A weasel can actually follow a mouse to the end of the mouse°s burrow and can squeeze through knotholes into chicken coops.
Weasels are chiefly ground animals, but some climb trees. The weasel's chief enemy is the great horned owl.
Weasels, like skunks, discharge a foul smelling liquid called musk when threatened or attacked.
You'll find weasels living in dens located in rock piles, under tree stumps or in abandoned rodent burrows. They sometimes store food in these dens and make nests from the fur and feathers of past meals.
Weasels are more active at night then they are during the daylight hours. They also remain active in winter.
Most female weasels have four to eight young at a time.
In winter, the fur of weasels that live in cold climates change to white. This valuable white fur is called ermine.
Most weasels have brown or reddish brown fur on the back and sides and white or yellow fur on the underside. Some weasels have black and white fur similar to that of skunks.
A common North American species, the long tailed weasel, grows from 12 to 18 inches long, including the tail. It weighs up to 12 ounces..
The short tailed weasel is from eight to 13 inches long and weighs up to five ounces.
The least weasel of North America, one of the world's smallest flesh eating animals, grows to be about eight inches long and weighs about two ounces.
The weasel family includes badgers, ferrets, otters and skunks.
Badgers are the digging members of the weasel family. Badgers dig homes underground. Using their strong front claws, badgers can outdig pocket gophers and moles, both famous diggers.
The American badger lives in the United States and Canada. It is usually found on the open plains, prairies and deserts of the West. Like other members of the family, it hunts by night and sleeps by day.