The Diet of the Long-Tailed Weasel

Classified in binomial nomenclature as "Mustela frenata" and sometimes referred to as the bridled weasel, the long-tailed weasel is a carnivorous mammal found throughout the Western Hemisphere in Canada, North America, Central America and South America. A clever, predatory animal, the long-tailed weasel's appetite is voracious and its diet is varied. Its hunting skills make it a formidable foe for small mammals and more.

Metabolism and Size

The long-tailed weasel's metabolic rate is high, enabling an adult weasel to eat what equates to one third of its body weight in a 24-hour period. Females weigh between about 3 and 9 ounces, while males weigh between 6 ounces and 1 pound.

Hunting

That high metabolism complements the long-tailed weasel's noteworthy hunting skills. Their senses are well developed, particularly their senses of sight, sound and smell. They climb and swim well, expanding the range of their prey. And their kill method is quick and efficient: after picking up on their prey's scent or noise, they follow behind the animal before lunging at its head and biting the base of its skull.

Foraging and Scavenging

Long-tailed weasels are foragers, and their prey is primarily living mammals. If necessary, the weasels scavenge and consume dead animals or decaying flesh. They hunt both during the day and at night, though they are most active during the latter.

Range of Diet

A Long-Tailed weasel in the wild eats mostly rodents and other small mammals, including chipmunks, gophers, mice, rabbits and voles. Females go after smaller rodents because of their size and ability to fit into those rodents' burrows, while males pursue larger prey, including bigger breeds of rabbits. Though they prefer mammals, long-tailed weasels also eat birds, reptiles and insects. In the summer, they break away from their usually carnivorous diet and eat some fruit--berries in particular.

Storage

After catching or, in the case of berries, obtaining their food, long-tailed weasels store their food in their burrow or near the where they killed their prey.