Yikes a weasel in our back yard!

[Sam I Am]

We live in the middle of a large city, although we have ravines and lots of park areas. This afternoon after letting the dogs into the back yard I noticed Sam was standing by our woodpile , mesmerized, not making a sound. This went on for over ten minutes. Unusual as mice and squirrels get barked at and chased. Sam was standing stock still...even with one paw raised (maybe I have a Scottish short haired pointer).  My DH went out to see what was going on, and when he got to where Sam was, a little face (weasel) peeped out of the woodpile, hissing at Sam, then retreated. So now I am freaked out and can’t let the dogs out to go potty without being on a leash. Reading up about them they can be quite vicious when defending themselves, and of course carry diseases like parvovirus and rabies plus fleas etc. Sam is continuing to whine and carry on wanting to go outside. . Rosie could care less.

Sam is hesitant which is unusual for him but I suspect he knows this is no ordinary mouse or squirrel, plus I don’t want a blood bath if he does decide to go in for the kill. I have a call into an several organizations for removal and relocation but it’s Sunday night here so will have to wait till Monday. Any one here had issues or incidents with a weasel and if so what did you do?

Edited October 4, 2021 by Sam I Am

[CamilleatGaelforce]

Sam I Am, I've never had a weasel in the yard, but skunks, a possum, uncounted garter snakes, yes.  Since you are in the city, could it have been someone's pet ferret that escaped or was released, and that's why it's so habituated to human surroundings?  Generally, everything I know about the weasel family says they are very shy and leery of human presence.  Anyway, I hope some wildlife rehab group can catch your little Mustelid and deal with it as needs be.  If it's a feral ferret, they can't release it in the wild, and who knows if it can be re-tamed. 

I am not surprised Rosie shows little interest, she won't appear to give a hoot until that weasel is out in the open, then watch out, she'll move in for the kill with a death shake so fast it will shock you.  Scotties seem to be past masters at knowing when getting all riled up is a waste of time or not.   When a catch and kill is possible, then they are consummate killers.  Now, the definition of "possible" might vary from dog to dog, my Lucy never felt wooden bars between her and a cage of rats was much of an impediment at all, but many Scotties look at those bars, the cage of rats, and think "Meh, not worth my time" and back right out of that tunnel again.  

[Sam I Am]

Ha ha yes you have definitely pegged Rosie right on.. gotta love a Scottie. No it’s definitely a weasel, cute for sure but don’t want one in the back yard. I have had great horned owls, hawks and now a weasel and have encountered coyotes walking the dogs all in a big city. 

[CamilleatGaelforce]

I'd better be able to characterize a Scottie, I've had them for 36 years!  I'm not surprised you've had coyotes, those little tricksters are brazen, and habituate WAY too easily.  I never used to worry about a coyote when I had 5-6 Scotties, I knew if one was ever stupid enough to jump over the fence into the yard it would be drawn and quartered before it could yell for help.   That's another thing about Scotties, they prefer to tackle prey bigger than they are.  I guess that's what comes from being bred as the caesar dog for a pack of working terriers, the Jack Russel might drag the fox or badger out, but it was going to be the Scottie who killed it, those "great riving teeth" of theirs are the size of a German Shepherd's. 

My guess is that the reason the weasel has moved in is that you have enough mice in that woodpile to attract a mouse predator.  If you could get Sam to learn to ignore the weasel, odds are it would clean out your rodent population and move on.  Their tiny little bodies have the metabolism of a nuclear furnace, so they eat way more mousies than one would ever guess.

[Dogcoat lady]

“ metabolism of a nuclear furnace”. love that!

[CamilleatGaelforce]

Dogcoat lady, I believe that they have such a fast metabolism that they can starve to death in just a couple of days if they don't eat.  The larger members of the weasel family, such as the giant Amazon river otters and wolverines, have more "normal" metabolisms and don't need to eat as often, but those little weasels and stoats and martens run super-hot, poor things. 

Sam I Am, did a wildlife re-locator come and trap your little visitor, or did it move on, realizing how eager Sam was to kill it?

Edited October 12, 2021 by CamilleatGaelforce
I missed a pleuralization.

[Dogcoat lady]

Wow!  That’s pretty scarey….we have Fisher cats around here.  No one wants to mess with them, they clear out an area and move on.  

[Sam I Am]

On 10/3/2021 at 10:35 PM, CamilleatGaelforce said:

 

No the wildlife folks told me that these small weasels are lightening fast and can fit into very small areas the dogs can’t get at. Sam runs out to the woodpile now but does not hang around, Rosie is silent and saunters over...so I suspect the weasel has moved on to mousier grounds. Which is to bad as I kind of got used to this little critter hanging out in our yard and taking care of the mice. After talking to WildNorth (wild animal rescue in Edmonton) I feel totally at ease now having a weasel live with us. He sure is cute...little round ears, big eyes and no doubt sharp teeth and unless the Terriers manage to corner him, is harmless ...unless you are a mouse.

Just looked up Fisher cats...I would not leave the house let alone let the dogs out! They look like  a small wolverine! 

Edited October 13, 2021 by Sam I Am

[pkcrossley]

hm, weasel is not that far off from badger, which cairns were bred to fight. yes they are vicious and not hygienic. 

we have fisher cats here, pretty much the same story, except very ugly.

cairns in partiuclar probalby need to keep their distance. a good cairn may deciee on a personal mission to rid the world of the evil badger/weasel/fisher

[sanford]

On 11/6/2021 at 11:50 AM, pkcrossley said:

hm, weasel is not that far off from badger, which cairns were bred to fight. yes they are vicious and not hygienic. 

!