Presumably the Most Weasels were giant Paleolithic mustelids that were exterminated by human hunters following their migration through Beringia.
Thanks for this! I was expecting a capybara, although that may not be taxonomically correct of me. posted by Countess Elena at 4:26 PM on December 6, 2011
WEASELS! Sooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! posted by infinitywaltz at 4:28 PM on December 6, 2011
I had ferrets (usually 3 at a time) as companions for around 20 years running. I still miss their mischievous and playful ways every day. Eventually their too-short lifespans came to be too heartbreaking for me and I had to take a break. I'll get more someday, though. posted by slkinsey at 4:32 PM on December 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Weasels aren't rodents, they're Mustelidae (mustela means "weasel"), AKA the same family as the laissez-faire honey badger!
That aside OH MY GOD BABY WEASELS SO CUTE HOW ARE THEY SO CUTE? Wildlife belongs in the wild, I am not allowed to fill my coat pockets with baby weasels (weasel kits? weaselets?) and smuggle them home but I WANT TO.
Thank you for this post! My internet has been sadly mustel-low since baby black-footed ferretcam signed off this summer. I am so happy there are baby weasels in the world, and the word weasel, which is ridiculously fun to say. Weasel weasel weasel weasel weasel weasel
(mustela mustela mustela mustela doesn't have quite the same ring to it) posted by nicebookrack at 4:34 PM on December 6, 2011 [13 favorites]
Yikes! They're cute and all, but ever since I read an article on ferret legging years ago, even just seeing a picture of these little guys makes me extremely uneasy. (And I don't even have external genitalia.) posted by phunniemee at 4:40 PM on December 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
God, I haven't been down to Fish Creek in forever. Thanks for this- seeing the babies relative to human fingers was just- wow. Such beautiful little creatures.
For those unaware- Fish Creek Provincial Park is in the southern end of Calgary and is a gem- accessible by C-Train. posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:41 PM on December 6, 2011
So much cuter than the least weasel stuffed in the Banff Park Museum. wish I had a photo posted by furtive at 4:44 PM on December 6, 2011
Being this vague made my mind go to seriously bad places. It's possible I've been forever scarred by the "his wife? a horse" guy. posted by kmz at 4:50 PM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
the cuddly little slinkies of the animal world, yay! posted by elizardbits at 4:56 PM on December 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
love the second picture where all they little butts are lined up together and they are SO FOCUSED on watching something posted by Cocodrillo at 4:59 PM on December 6, 2011
OMG, they should bottle those pictures and sell them as vitamin SQUEEEEE!
(I'm on deadlines. I'm not getting much sleep. Forgive me?)
Anyway, apart from really, really worrying whenever I saw that massive foot near those tiny, freshly-hatched Tories, that page was really charming. It demands a song. posted by maudlin at 5:00 PM on December 6, 2011
Yeah, they seem all cuddly and cute until a bunch of them burrow beneath your skin and try and wear you like a suit. That shit itches something crazy, and they are hard to shake out. posted by GenjiandProust at 5:02 PM on December 6, 2011
Weasels aren't rodents, they're Mustelidae...
Yeah, well, we know that (we being ferret fanciers and fans of otters, martens, minks, fishers, and the incomparable wolverine (which can drive a bear from its prey)).
But the "amphibious rodent" quote is a reference to the movie The Big Lebowski.
also:
baby weasels are so cute!
(redundant, redundant) posted by ovvl at 5:03 PM on December 6, 2011
They get less cute when they bare their brand new, needle-sharp carnivore teeth. Then some of the older, evolutionarily speaking, parts of my brain got alarmed. posted by longsleeves at 5:10 PM on December 6, 2011
Cute says you. All depends on context. One of these (never mind a pack) running swiftly from cover to cover in my girlfriend's house when she turns on the light would send her screaming atop a chair--as in Tom and Jerry, no joke--just like a little mouse does. I think the little mouse is adorable, she hops in the car to buy mousetraps. posted by oneironaut at 5:15 PM on December 6, 2011
For those unaware- Fish Creek Provincial Park is in the southern end of Calgary and is a gem- accessible by C-Train.
Also by the #3 bus (The bus turns around at Votier's Flats, where these weasels were found).
I biked through Fish Creek Park a lot growing up, back when it really was the south end of the city. I agree, it is a gem. posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 5:26 PM on December 6, 2011
I believe there's an error in the captioning where it says "least weasel".
The nine little mammals moved through the undergrowth in a mass, over and under each other, but always in contact. In his report on Albertabird, Gus Yaki described them as “travelling together so close that they seemed to be a single organism.”
I think that's actually the correct usage, but man, to a modern ear, it sounds like a project to build your own weasel. posted by Malor at 8:17 PM on December 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow. My father-in-law's house backs on Fish Creek Park and we've seen some impressive sights - my daughter's first close encounter with the harsh side of natural law was when we came upon a young bald eagle tearing a smaller bird to shreds on the riverbank one Sunday afternoon - but these Least Weasels are new to me. (Incidentally, These Least Weasels are one of the better jazz-funk and/or ska-punk bands on the Calgary scene right now . . .)
And yeah, as has been noted, Fish Creek isn't the outskirts: it's fully inside Calgary's city limits, with tract suburbia on every side. There was a cougar that took up a couple days' residence in a tree on the edge of a cookie-cutter subdivision not far from where these weasels were found earlier this year. I believe Fish Creek is the only provincial park in Canada that's completely inside a major city's boundaries, but I could be wrong about that. posted by gompa at 9:08 PM on December 6, 2011
If someone were trying to invest The Most Cute Bebbeh Animal in the World, it seems quite natural they would attempt the Corgi x Hamster cross. posted by drlith at 4:40 AM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
invent. invent. posted by drlith at 4:40 AM on December 7, 2011
How is it humans didn't domesticate these little dudes ages ago? Don't say it's because they're terrifying carnivores -- kitties and dogs both are, too.
I look at all the adorable wild animals in the world, and I think ancient humans clearly didn't have their priorities right. posted by meese at 8:33 PM on December 7, 2011
How is it humans didn't domesticate these little dudes years ago?
Thanks for this! I was expecting a capybara, although that may not be taxonomically correct of me.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:26 PM on December 6, 2011