Yellow-bellied weasel
| Yellow-bellied weasel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Mustelidae |
| Genus: | Mustela |
| Species: | M. kathiah |
| Binomial name | |
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Mustela kathiah Hodgson, 1835 |
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| Yellow-bellied weasel range | |
The yellow-bellied weasel (Mustela kathiah) is a species of weasel. It lives in the pine forests of Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. The yellow-bellied weasel is rated "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List. The yellow-bellied weasel is named for its yellow-colored underbelly. The top of its body and the tail are dark brown. Yellow-bellied weasels have a body length of 9.8-10.6 inches (25–27 cm.) and a tail length of 4.9-5.9 inches (12.5–15 cm.). The tail is about half the length of the body. Yellow-bellied weasels weigh approximately 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg.).
Yellow-bellied weasels eat birds, mice, rats, voles, and other small mammals.
Researchers believe that the reproductive behavior of the yellow-bellied weasel is similar to that of the short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea). Yellow-bellied weasels first build a den in the ground. Breeding occurs annually. Mating occurs in late spring or early summer. Females are pregnant for about ten months. The female gives birth to 3-18 kits in April or May. By the time the kits are eight weeks old, they are ready to go out and hunt on their own.
The yellow bellied weasel is an interesting animal that travels through most of the Thailand north countries. Most of the records came from hill evergreen Forrest and/or distributed habitats at elevations above 1,400 m. There are several characteristics of the yellow bellied weasel that are useful in distinguishing it from other weasel species. The basic color pattern of a yellow bellied weasel is rich mid-to dark brown above and yellowish to rich yellow below. It has a broad yellow patch from its throat extending past the front legs and along the venter (what is venter? is the underside or abdomen of an animal.) The yellow bellied weasel has a minimum head and body (165–280 mm). The tail is longer relatively to the head-body length.
Behavior of the yellow bellied weasel. The yellow bellied weasel roams by itself and doesn’t tend to travel with a pack (http://www.siamese-hertiag.org/nhbsspdf). It hunts and looks for food, it usually eats…..eat mostly rodents such as mice, rats, and voles. They will also eat birds and small mammals (Nowak and Paradiso 1983; Jha 1999) A yellow bellied weasel was once spotted with a frog in its mouth as it was seen it dropped the frog and then came back but didn’t eat it while being spotted (http://www.siamese-hertiag.org/nhbsspdf).
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Wikipedia