Long-tailed Weasel

Common Name
Long-tailed Weasel
Order
Carnivora
Family
Mustelidae
Species Name
Mustela frenata
Status
Common
States
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Nevada
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
West Virginia
Wyoming

Distribution

Southwestern Canada, everywhere south of Canada/US border to South America except arid desert areas of southwest US and northwest Mexico.

Notes

Prefers rodents, but feeds on a broad array of small vertebrates. Agile swimmer. Northern populations vary in color seasonally, but not southern populations. Males feed on mammals as large as snow shoe hares; females feed on mouse-sized rodents. Like a
Illinois
This is the most likely encountered of the weasels
Ohio
Ohio's most common weasel