It is hard to guess what a Least weasel weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Least weasel (Mustela nivalis) on average weights 79 grams (0.17 lbs).
The Least weasel is from the family Mustelidae (genus: Mustela). It is usually born with about 2 grams (0 lbs). They can live for up to 10 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 18.9 cm (0′ 8″). On average, Least weasels can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 5.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The least weasel (Mustela nivalis), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel in the UK and much of the world, is the smallest member of the genus Mustela, family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Malta, Crete, Bermuda, Madeira Island, the Azores, the Canary Islands, São Tomé, the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile. It is classified as least concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population throughout the Northern Hemisphere.Least weasels from various parts of its range vary greatly in size. The body is slender and elongated, the legs and tail are relatively short. The colour varies geographically, as does the pelage type and length of tail. The dorsal surface, flanks, limbs and tail of the animal are usually some shade of brown while the underparts are white. The line delineating the boundary between the two colours is usually straight. At high altitudes and in the northern part of its range, the coat becomes pure white in winter. Eighteen subspecies are recognised.Small rodents form the largest part of the least weasel’s diet, but it also kills and eats rabbits, other mammals, and occasionally birds, birds’ eggs, fish and frogs. Males mark their territories with olfactory signals and have exclusive home ranges which may intersect with or include several female ranges. Least weasels use pre-existing holes to sleep, store food and raise their young. Breeding takes place in the spring and summer, and there is a single litter of about six kits which are reared exclusively by the female. Due to its small size and fierce nature, the least weasel plays an important part in the mythology and legend of various cultures.
Animals of the same family as a Least weasel
We found other animals of the Mustelidae family:
- Indonesian mountain weasel with a weight of 466 grams
- Southern river otter bringing 7.5 kilos (16.53 lbs) to the scale
- American hog-nosed skunk bringing 3.37 kilos (7.43 lbs) to the scale
- Hooded skunk bringing 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs) to the scale
- Mountain weasel with a weight of 180 grams
- Nilgiri marten bringing 2.04 kilos (4.5 lbs) to the scale
- Neotropical otter bringing 6.55 kilos (14.44 lbs) to the scale
- Steppe polecat bringing 1.69 kilos (3.73 lbs) to the scale
- Sea otter bringing 27.46 kilos (60.54 lbs) to the scale
- European polecat with a weight of 980 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Least weasel
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Mustela nivalis:
- Big-eared hopping mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Woodland Oldfield mouse bringing 77 grams to the scale
- Charming climbing mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Puna mouse bringing 84 grams to the scale
- Southern climbing mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Short-tailed hopping mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Smoky mouse bringing 68 grams to the scale
- San Quintin kangaroo rat bringing 84 grams to the scale
- Bolivian big-eared mouse bringing 71 grams to the scale
- Van Deusen’s rat bringing 67 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Least weasel
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Least weasel:
- Bryant’s woodrat with a size of 20.9 cm (0′ 9″)
- Geelvink Bay flying fox with a size of 19.7 cm (0′ 8″)
- Long-tailed mountain rat with a size of 15.9 cm (0′ 7″)
- Magellanic tuco-tuco with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
- Yellow-faced pocket gopher with a size of 19.2 cm (0′ 8″)
- Large mosaic-tailed rat with a size of 20.4 cm (0′ 9″)
- Lesser small-toothed rat with a size of 15.8 cm (0′ 7″)
- Tawitawi forest rat with a size of 19 cm (0′ 8″)
- Papuan bandicoot with a size of 19.3 cm (0′ 8″)
- Smoky pocket gopher with a size of 19.2 cm (0′ 8″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Least weasel
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (5) as a Least weasel:
- Long-tailed pocket mouse
- Western jumping mouse
- Kowari
- House mouse
- Variegated squirrel
- Dark bolo mouse
- Hispid cotton rat
- Northern grass mouse
- Four-striped grass mouse
- Marbled polecat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Least weasel
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Least weasel:
- Barbary ground squirrel with an average maximal age of 9 years
- Asian small-clawed otter with an average maximal age of 10.08 years
- Coypu with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Groundhog with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Heterohyrax antineae with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Lesser long-nosed bat with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Capybara with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Fishing cat with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Water deer with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Common dwarf mongoose with an average maximal age of 10.92 years