The
long-tailed weasel has short legs and a long black tipped tail.
It is brown in the summer and white in the winter. Many die
before they turn one year old. Once they reach adulthood they
may live several years. It lives in forests, fields, and bushy
areas. It eats rabbits, chickens, mice, and frogs. Its predators
are owls, coyotes, rattlesnakes, and the Eastern massassauga
rattlesnake. The baby long-tailed weasels are weaned when they
are about 36 days old. The female brings them food when they
are weaned and later takes them hunting. It is mostly nocturnal
but sometimes diurnal. It does not hibernate in the winter.
It is not endangered in Ohio. Its cousin is the short-tailed
weasel.
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