By Josie
April 11th, 2023
Today you'll get to know the adorable, but nonetheless highly talented predator, stoat.
The stoat is a small-sized hunter, with a characteristic elongated, low-lying body that makes it well-matched to predating little rodents.
A stoat is a small mustelid, closely associated with Weasels and Otters.
It has the ability to move swiftly, possibly up to 20 miles an hour.
It can effortlessly slaughter prey considerably bigger in size than itself.
During the summers, stoats living in the Northern hemisphere have brown and red fur.
In winter, develops into a thick coating covering the body, turning into a completely white color.
They live in woodlands and other territories like grasslands, marshes, and mountains.
Their only require shelter to hide in and the availability of plenty of prey.
They prey on mammals the size of a rabbit or smaller.
At times, when mammalian prey is infrequent, they happily feed on birds, eggs, frogs, fish, and insects.
The stoat executes the predation plan by biting at the base of its skull.
The word stoat derives from the Dutch word “stout,” meaning naughty, or the Gothic word “stautan,” meaning to push.