Weasel riding a woodpecker!
 

This photo is going viral today on the net. I first saw it on Weather.com

So I was at National Geographic website for another reason and found this long article about it:


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Both the woodpecker and weasel survived this flight BTW.

But I found it very interesting.

That is amazing mrsD - thanks for sharing.

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Here is the BBC News story with a video of Mr Le-May and his superb semi-pro camera kit. Puts to rest any questions in my mind. I have seen weasels bringing down adult rabbits many times their size, they are fearless superpredators.
A good link, as usual, MrsD.

Dave.

In 2012 when we went upNorth for our vacation... Weezie was our only cat. Oreo had just gone to the Rainbow bridge, losing her battle and remission with cancer. Oreo would have protected Weez, but she had just been put down before we left. The vet didn't think the trip and location would be advisable and she was terminal anyway... sigh.

We have gardening stuff under our old dock up there. The second day (over a weekend) Weezie became very ill. The following Monday a local vet who was a ferry ride and 30miles away squeezed us in. He couldn't find a bite but her fever was very high so he gave her a special long acting antibiotic shot (thinking she had a bite somewhere). 3 days later the abscess appeared and we went back and he said he thought it was a shrew bite. But after reading this article about the weasel I think she spooked one upon our arrival who was living under the dock (this dock is on dry ground since the water levels retreated many years ago.). I noticed lots of squealing at US that first day too. Initially I thought she had a run in with a mink as we have those commonly too. But the bite location and tiny tooth injury which could not be seen by the vet initially, leads me now to think it could have been a weasel.

She scratched the fur off as the abscess healed, and here is a photo of it: I think our mystery animal was indeed a weasel, now. They can be ferocious and Weez had never seen one before. The location of the bite, suggests this. She has brought small rabbits to us, and chipmunks, so I can see her trying for a weasel too.

World's Deadliest - Stoat Hypnotizes Rabbit:
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Perhaps Weezie witnessed this Dance of Death. I have seen it performed first-hand (stoat/weasel are similar apart from size and tail), and a hunting cat would view it as prey in trouble - warranting an attack with a nasty surprise!

Dave.

That was very interesting. Thanks Dave!;)

I wonder if a Ferret is a smaller version of a Weasel or Stoat.
I should look that up.

My father came from a family of stockmen and drovers and they eventually bred Marino sheep in South Australia. Rabbits were introduced to Australia and are a pest and particularly so when keeping sheep in great numbers because of the rabbit holes in the ground.

Anyway to cut a very long story very short, I recall being told stories in my childhood of my father's job when growing up to look after the ferrets and he used to send the ferrets down the rabbit holes to get the rabbits to run out. No idea where they got the ferrets. They would have to have been introduced too.

The weasels we have upNorth are least weasels, a member of the mustild family.

Here is a list of mustilds...


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Notice the ferret... it is really a type of weasel.

Notice the photo of how the weasel is trying to kill a rabbit. It is just like the woodpecker photo.

Weezie had a scrape on her nose and a running left eye at 2am after her altercation, also. It was pretty awful being on the island in pitch dark with no electricity in the boonies, trying to help her. Then not being able to find a vet. I called Dr. Groover and his wife gave me suggestions on what to do to get her out of her coma like state.
I had to mix up a sugar solution and give a milliliter or so every 10 minutes to keep her out of a hepatic syndrome. It worked, enough for us to get her to the vet on that following Monday afternoon. And Dr. Groover was brilliant and Weez recovered with no further events! Now our vet here gives me 10 tablets of Clavamox for her as a prophylatic treatment option should we have a repeat injury. Hers was the 2nd injury in all the years we took the cats up there! Oreo had a tail injury that defied explanation up there 10 yrs before. But none others for the other cats in 30 yrs.

The least weasel is really small... about the size of a chipmunk... only much more ferocious.

Poor Weezie. :(

Very interesting. Thank you.
Carnivora.
I guess that means that people who keep ferrets these days for household pets need to feed them mice or something. I didn't know any of that.
Also very interesting is the fact that gestation can take a year. They've evolved so that they bear young in favourable conditions.

edited to add; Just checked and although I knew it was illegal to keep rabbits here in my State, it's also illegal to keep ferrets.

I think there is a ferret chow, for them. But they are tough to keep as pets. They will climb up chimneys in fireplaces, tear up rugs and furniture, steal things and hide them, and most importantly BITE frequently. I don't think I could handle that.


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People I've met over the years say they do indeed bite!

I have a nature book upNorth that claims that weasels kill even when not hungry...they tend to stash the kills for later. Hence they are always dangerous and bloodthirsty.

My Ex's Nephew keeps several ferrets as pets, and goes 'rabbiting' with them. They are the largest, and only domesticated of the 3. Size/weight-wise next comes the stoat with a black tail end, then the weasel - although large weasels can be bigger than small stoats.
Ferrets can be very affectionate, especially with their owner if handled regularly. They are cheeky and playful if a bit bitey. Not suitable for children - these ARE predators. One thing that sticks in my mind is that the female must be mated every time she comes into heat or she is likely to die of shock of some sort. Keepers usually have neutered males for this mating - it's the act, not resultant pregnancy that saves the female's life!

Dave.

Oh, that is truly weird... I'll keep my comments to myself! ;)

All said and done - I wouldn't keep them, they stink of musk something rotten :D
And now the little ones have gone airborne :eek:

Dave.

How 'bitey' are ferrets? Here's a classic case, respected Presenter Richard Whiteley gets a lesson.

TV Outtakes - Richard Whiteley and the Ferret:
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Dave.

The mustild family all have delayed
Implantation of the fertilized ova. They live in northerly climates
And mate in summer and have the kits next spring.

I think the biting is part of the constant urge to kill.

Our feral kitty Maya will watch the birds outside or play
Rough with Weezie then do a shredding on a paper bag
To vent her hunting needs. She is very sweet with us
And never bites us but this shredding thing is intense
For her. We've never had a cat do this, so we have to keep a
Paper shopping bag out for her. She throws the bits up in the air too.
Like plucking feathers!

I miss my cats as much as my dogs. We used to Foster 'difficult' cases for a Rescue Group. My two favourite ferals were Buzz and Bo'sun who came to us without ever having had human contact. Bo' became so tame he was rehomed, and Buzz adopted ONLY me. I couldn't pick him up, but he would rub against my hand or lay pressed against me eventually when HE felt like it. Anyone else got shredded like your paper bags, MrsD.
I love it when we meander off on a tangent.

Dave.

She used to chew cardboard too...the boxes we leave out for them to play in ..She likes the packing paper that comes from the Ebay deliveries. It is without ink-- just plain light unprinted newsprint. She will hump up the paper, and hide under it. Then when Weezie saunters past she will leap out at her.. and then both will do that funny "cat dance". One night hubby picked up some Panera carryout (a yummy restaurant place here) and left the bag on the floor... that was when Maya decided that shredding that bag was better than boxes. Sometimes we sprinkle catnip inside. She bites out little bits about the size of a nickle coin, and flings her neck throwing them in a semicircle around her. She is also the messiest eater we have ever had.
But that is another story. Otherwise she is sweet, loving, very careful always with her nails, and shows promise for tricks. I have already taught her to raise her paw for food. Now she raises it for "please" too. (open the door or let her in from the porch)!. I am trying to expand on that, but it is slow going.

When the ducks come to our feeding area at dusk, I just call...
"big birds" and she comes to watch thru the window. Maya was a rescue from our upNorth home...in the wilds. She has many very intelligent traits. Our vet says rescue ferals, if calm (not aggressive) like she is, are the smartest cats. The smart ones survive and pass on the smart genes. Not a day passes that she fails to make us laugh or wonder at her! She loves hubby best and that is wonderful because Oreo was "his" too, and he was very grief stricken when she died.

cats in bags:
 

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Our rescue friend from upNorth, who gave us Maya, posted this today on her Facebook. what a coinkydink

Cat shredding bag part 1:

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Part 2: Hey, dat my bag:

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part 3....

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this is not our Maya but the technique is similar.

The middle video reminds me of our rescue Turkish Van, Thursday. He had been abused - his owner used to try to stab him. He used to climb into shopping bags and get so comfortable we hung him from the door handles, where he sat with his head out, playing with people's hands as they went through the door.
We had to ban all cat nip - in toys and raw - because of him. His eyes used to dilate and he would attack us, or the other cats after the smallest amount… and the attacks were brutal coming from a large, loving cat.

Dave.

I must see if my Daughter has any pics, this is pre-digital days and, although burned to cd, mine are all buried in a huge wooden chest.

Catnip.... Took Maya 2 yrs to warm up to it... and only now she only is using a little bit. The wildest she gets is more "playful".

But Weezie is truly hooked on it. Weez does not get mean unless you play rough with her (which we don't)...but she does make funny faces. The wide eyes. She is an unregistered Bombay and has big eyes anyway. Here is one example:

My son's large Ginger tom Garfield however, gets aggressive on it too.

ferret ban lifted in NYCity:
 

speaking of ferrets.... they will be allowed again as pets in NYC:


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