I can’t believe it is Friday already! Not only that but I am willing to bet your kids are starting to get excited about the prospect of a bag full of candy in a few days. Perhaps I will try to think of a good Halloween animal for Monday but first let’s learn about the Ermine, which is a member of the weasel family. This cute little creature is native to North America and Eurasia but has also expanded its range to include New Zealand, where it is wreaking havoc on the native bird populations. So pick a destination and lets go explore the life of the Ermine!

The Ermine is also known as a Stoat and is one of those lucky animals that disobeys the rules of fashion as they tend to wear white after Labour Day. Obviously, this white coat helps them blend in nicely with the *shudder*….. snowy landscape (side note – I don’t even want to think about snow but I know it is coming soon). Naturally, once the snow begins to melt, the Ermine will go back to their standard brown, with lighter undersides, wardrobe. So why do these animals need to blend in so much?

Well, when you are only 33 cm (13″) long, you kind of make the perfect snack for numerous predators. For instance they need to be on the constant lookout for Coyotes, Badgers, Foxes, Wolverines and Owls, among other dangerous predators. As you can imagine, life it not easy for this poor little Ermine. I guess this may help explain the incredibly short life-span of the our colour-changing weasel. In the wild the Stoat has an average life expectancy of a year or two.

As a result of this short life-span, the female Ermine reaches maturity within a couple of months; however, since males tend to be slower (insert joke about guys here), the male Ermine takes at least 2 years to reach maturity. Of course this means they are usually only eligible for one mating season. Is it just me or does this sound like some distorted version of Romeo and Juliet, where the two Ermines fall in love but both end up dying shortly thereafter (I apologize if I ruined the ending of Romeo and Juliet for you).

So it looks like it is time to go and celebrate the weekend. Put the finishing touches on your Halloween costume and I will see you on Monday for a Spooktacular Wild Fact.