### animal | vertebrate | mammal:

Weasel
* All weasels have scent glands, but some are more powerful than others.
* Many weasels grow white fur in the winter, but the tip of the tail remains black.
* Most weasels eat meals
  - meat meals
  - rodents
  - small rodents
* Most weasels has-part bones
* Most weasels have anal glands
  - babies
  - brown fur
  - bushy tails
  - diets
  - long tails
  - necks
  - senses
  - shapes
  - snouts
  - spines
  - tip tails
  - toes
* Most weasels kill animals
  - chickens
  - food
  - leftover food
  - prey
  - small prey
* Most weasels live in areas
  - different areas
* Most weasels possess bodies
* Most weasels reach maturity
  - sexual maturity
  - survive for years
  - take shelter in burrows, rock crevices, or among tree roots
  - weigh grams
* Some weasels adapt to water
  - are killed by animals
  - attack hibernate woodchucks
  - belong to families
  - catch geese
* Some weasels eat birds
  - chipmunks
  - rats
  - wood rats
  - enter nests
  - feed on rodents
* Some weasels have black tail tips
  - high surface areas
* Some weasels have long tails, others have short tails
  - whiskers
* Some weasels kill ducklings
  - individuals
  - rabbits
  - live for years
* Some weasels live in forests
  - grassland
  - mountains
  - parks
* Some weasels occupy ranges
  - wide ranges
* Some weasels occur in river valleys
  - possess babies
* Some weasels prey on birds
  - mammal birds
  - small birds
  - seize prey
  - suck eggs
  - weigh about grams.
  * They have long slender bodies, which enable them to follow their prey into burrows. Weasels are famous for their cleverness and guile
* also abandon their parents when they are old enough to hunt by their self
  - have another line of defense camouflage
* are active both in the daytime and at night, but more so after dark.
* are also susceptible to a variety of parasites, including fleas, ticks, mites, and worms
  - canine distemper
  - among the pika s most persistent predators
  - bold and aggressive predators
  - carnivores
  - characterized by their long, slender bodies and short legs
  - consummate predators
  - deadly, effective hunters
  - great mousers and very curious animals
  - less common, and eat birds, mice and lizards
  - lithe, slender animals with elongated necks, muscular, snakelike bodies, and short legs
* are located in backyards
  - barns
  - bars
  - boxs
  - bushs
  - cartoons
  - caves
  - cheese
  - classrooms
  - congresses
  - corn fields
  - cotton
  - dens
  - fairytales
  - farms
  - gardens
  - habitats
  - jungle
* are located in law firms
  - offices
  - maines
  - meatloaf
  - pet shops
  - pockets
  - pop
  - public offices
  - rivers
  - terrariums
  - traps
  - trees
  - tunnels
  - woodlands
  - zoos
  - long animals with short legs and a fairly pointed head
  - mammals
  - mostly nocturnal
  - notorious for killing entire coops of chickens
  - only of minor economic importance as furbearers in Alaska
  - people
  - persistent and fearless hunters
  - powerful animals for their size
* are primarily nocturnal but often venture out in daylight
  - solitary animals except during the mating and whelping seasons
  - subject to predation from hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, dogs, cats and man
* are the smallest of the three mustelids, with a thin, muscular body and a small head
  - smallest, designed to pursue rodents down burrows
  - unprotected in Minnesota, and only a few thousand are trapped for their fur in winter
* are very active and chiefly terrestrial but are able to climb trees
  - fast and can follow the path of their prey
  - good predators
* attack snakes and mice.
* can hunt animals much larger than themselves.
* catch prey
* change color with the seasons, and there is no color difference between the sexes.
* do kill some gamebird chicks, but probably very few.
* easily slip in and out of small holes.
* eat a wide variety of foods
  - mice, voles, shrews, moles, rabbits and small birds and their eggs
* eat small animals, and racoons eat animals, fishes, frogs, and fruit
* exhibit very aggressive behavior to intruders of their home ranges.
* expend considerable energy
* feed on small mammals.
* have a brown dorsal coat and a pale or white ventral coat
  - long, slender body with short legs and a white tipped tail
  - faces
  - five toes on each of their paws that are tipped with small, non-retractable claws
  - heads
  - long, slim bodies
  - noses
  - own territory
  - sharp eyesight and excellent hearing
  - typical shapes
* have very short legs, a long snout, and a long, slender body
  - snout, big eyes, and a long, slender body
* hunt both at night and during the day.
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - piluses
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* like to hide and make total pests of themselves
  - sleep on soft beds
  - foothills and mountains
* lose heat.
* make many sounds including barks, hisses, chirps, squeaking, squealing, and trilling.
* mate in spring and summer, having two litters of three to six kits a year
  - the period from late summer to mid-winter
* move into dens.
* often choose dens at the base of trees in habitats with tree stands, such as mixed forests.
* play an important role in helping to control rodent populations.
* pose threats.
* prefer woodlands or open country with hedgerows, thickets or fence rows.
* prey on rabbits.
* reaching five to six years are regarded as fully mature.
* sexually mature before their first birthday.
* sometimes kill chicks
* specialise in hunting small rodents and their numbers depend on the abundance of their prey.
* swallow prey.
* track mice through their winter runways and lairs.
* travel up to kilometres.
* turn into rats.
* typically pounce on their prey with their forefeet
  - prey on rodents and ground nesting or feeding birds
* usually nest in small rodent burrows, stumps, rock outcroppings, or under old buildings.