How big does a Least weasel get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Least weasel (Mustela nivalis) reaches an average size of 18.9 cm (0′ 8″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 10 years, they grow from 2 grams (0 lbs) to 79 grams (0.17 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Least weasels have 5 babies about 1 times per year. The Least weasel (genus: Mustela) is a member of the family Mustelidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
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:
- Wolverine with a size of 77.3 cm (2′ 7″)
- Chinese ferret-badger with a size of 38.5 cm (1′ 4″)
- Siberian weasel with a size of 30.6 cm (1′ 1″)
- American badger with a size of 56 cm (1′ 11″)
- European pine marten with a size of 45.7 cm (1′ 6″)
- Nilgiri marten with a size of 51.3 cm (1′ 9″)
- Malayan weasel with a size of 32.6 cm (1′ 1″)
- Southern river otter with a size of 59 cm (2′ 0″)
- Colombian weasel with a size of 21.5 cm (0′ 9″)
- Yellow-throated marten with a size of 55 cm (1′ 10″)
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:
- Attwater’s pocket gopher with a size of 15.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Silky anteater with a size of 17.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Pseudocheirus schlegeli with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
- Gregarious short-tailed rat with a size of 16.2 cm (0′ 7″)
- Ashy-headed flying fox with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
- Javanese flying squirrel with a size of 18.5 cm (0′ 8″)
- Crest-tailed mulgara with a size of 17.5 cm (0′ 7″)
- Northern pika with a size of 16 cm (0′ 7″)
- Barbary ground squirrel with a size of 18.9 cm (0′ 8″)
- Lowland ringtail possum with a size of 22.3 cm (0′ 9″)
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:
- European rabbit
- New Guinean rat
- Asia Minor ground squirrel
- Four-striped grass mouse
- Olive grass mouse
- American water shrew
- Crowned shrew
- Northwestern deer mouse
- Uinta ground squirrel
- Dark bolo mouse
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Least weasel
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Least weasel:
- Bengal fox with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Black giant squirrel with an average maximal age of 10.08 years
- Small Indian civet with an average maximal age of 10.5 years
- Water deer with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Silver-haired bat with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Cave myotis with an average maximal age of 11.25 years
- Fisher (animal) with an average maximal age of 10.08 years
- Greater Egyptian gerbil with an average maximal age of 8.17 years
- White-tailed jackrabbit with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Muskrat with an average maximal age of 10 years
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:
- Oecomys rutilus bringing 73 grams to the scale
- Oldfield white-bellied rat bringing 81 grams to the scale
- Long-footed water rat bringing 83 grams to the scale
- Big-eared hopping mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Small Japanese mole bringing 65 grams to the scale
- Lesser hamster-rat bringing 75 grams to the scale
- Townsend’s chipmunk bringing 79 grams to the scale
- Thomas’s mosaic-tailed rat bringing 90 grams to the scale
- Sundevall’s jird bringing 69 grams to the scale
- Swift fruit bat bringing 66 grams to the scale