SIBERIAN WEASEL
DESCRIPTION: An orange–brown animal, it is
the largest Indian weasel and the only one with a uniformly coloured body.
Its face has varying degrees of white
flecks, and a black or dark chocolate patch from its snout to the eyes. Its throat
varies from white to pale brown. The tail is 50 per cent of head and body. It has
four pairs of mammae. Younger animals can be browner. The soles are hairy. M.s.
canigula and M.s. hodgsoni both have tails without a black tip, but the former
has much white on its muzzle, all the way down the neck to the forelimbs, while
M.s. hodgsoni has the white on the face limited to the muzzle and throat. M.s.
subhemachalana has a black muzzle with only a white chin, a white line on the
face, and a tail tip that is black.
BEHAVIOUR: One of the most efficient
carnivores in the Himalayas.
DISTRIBUTION: Himalayas from Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir to Uttarakhand, and the eastern Himalayas from Sikkim to Nagaland between 1,500–4,800 m.
Size: 28–30 cm
IUCN Status: Least Concern
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