COVER PHOTO: Ermine in its full winter coat. By Steven Hint, Wikimedia Commons.
By Jennifer Devine
Living in a mostly untouched 20-acre forest, we’ve been able to see our share of native plants and animals. From the normal deer and mice to animals my eyes had never seen previously, like ruffed grouse and bald eagles.
At dawn in early 2022, our ears began picking up the telltale scritch of mice as we enjoyed our morning coffee at the table. We had set out homeopathic repellent, like balsam sachets, and even resorted to kill traps, but this critter was very sneaky. Dear Husband (DH) kept telling me it was not a mouse, but I was skeptical. What other animal could come inside, and our big, bad German Shepherd would stay unmovable? The clink of dog food nuggets in his bowl sounded in the mudroom, and all he would do is look over and sigh.
A few late-winter mornings later, DH had taken the dog out for a walk and left me to the peace and quiet of the cabin. Coffee in hand, I sat with a dog bowl in my periphery. Scratching sounds began and I looked to the left. The cute little face of a weasel (Mustela) was staring back at me. The Disney Princess in me spoke, “So you’re the sneaky little fella that befriended the dog, huh?”
It was like a whack-a-mole game as his slinky body shot back fast into the less-than-1-inch hole in the wall.
I looked up “weasels” online and learned of two that call the cold woods of Michigan home. One is the highly mobile, sleek, short-legged and black tip-tailed ermine (Mustela erminea), which turns all-white in winter, and the other is the smaller and shorter-tailed least weasel (Mustela nivalis). My research shifted from both weasel types to only ermine when we happened to snap this picture of ours, mid change, venturing from under our deck during spring thaw. As the weather warms, his white coat will change to brown on top and off-white underneath as the weather warms.
These carnivorous mammals like to live around farms and households with small animals and animal feed. They keep dens in multiple places in the woods ⸺ near rivers, underground and in fallen logs ⸺ while also denning under sheds and abandoned buildings. They don’t usually invade inhabited homes, but some comments online suggest more than one household cat has caught them indoors. Not having any issues with chickens, ducks or rabbits disappearing, I wasn’t too concerned with these “vermin.” They must have been partaking in their second-favorite foods of frogs, mice, insects, berries and, in our case, old hidden chicken eggs under the deck, plus the dog food.
According to esf.edu (the website of the Adirondack Ecological Center-SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry), “Ermine kill prey by biting the base of the skull, and when attacking larger prey, cling to the struggling victim with both front and hind limbs. The notion that the weasels suck the blood of the prey is a myth. However, before they begin to feed on flesh and internal organs, weasels often lick the blood from the wounds … because of the uncertainty of locating prey, [ermine] often kills more than it can eat at once, caching the excess….”
Ermine are territorial, maintaining and patrolling exclusive boundaries marked with scent. Fast footed, nocturnal and athletic, they can cover more than 8 miles in a single night, easily climb trees, swim well, leap forward 20 inches and reach a 6-foot vertical! All their senses are sharp and used for hunting, hiding and mating.
These critters do not mate for life as they are polygynous (promiscuous). Mating happens in early summer and a female will give birth to an average of six young after 280 days. Young are blind and helpless. They grow quickly and hunt with their mother by week eight. Females do not reach adult size until week six and often get mated when they are an average of 65 days old, before they are weaned. After 7-12 weeks, young are fully weaned. Males grow to their full adult size by the next year and won’t breed until then. Females are smaller, hunt underground and survive for at least two breeding seasons. Males hunt above ground and get trapped more often, thus not surviving as long. The number of offspring an ermine has depends on the amount of food available.
Ermine have few predators and often perish due to lack of food, instead of being the food, though royalty once wore their fur. In Native American cultures, they are symbols of “energy, ingenuity and stealth,” according to Beverly Two Feathers, writing for Native-American Totems.com. In other Native traditions, they are seen as symbols of transformation, new beginnings and hope. Look and listen for ermine as you play outdoors in 2023.
Jennifer Devine has a passion for writing and plants. Living in cities and homesteading off grid has offered a myriad of experiences, memories and adventures with her family as they utilize the natural resources Michigan has to offer within their crafts, cooking and all-around lives.
