Ermine
Geographic Range
Palearctic, Nearctic: The ermine has a circumpolar distribution. It is found in the north temperate and frigid sectors of Eurasia and North America. In the New World, it ranges from east to west in a broad belt from the Arctic Ocean and adjacent islands of the Canadian Archipelago southward into the northern United States. Ermine are absent from the Great Plains.
Physical Characteristics
At full adult size, the ermine's total body length from head to rump is 170mm to 330mm. Males are generally twice as large as females. The tail length is about 35% of the total body length, ranging from 42mm to 120mm. Ermine have the typical weasel form: long body, short legs, long neck supporting a triangular head, slightly protruding round ears, bright black eyes, and long whiskers. Their short, moderately fine fur is white in the winter and the tip of the tail is black. In the summer, the dorsal fur is chocolate brown while the ventral fur extending to the upper lip is yellowish white.
Food Habits
Ermine are carnivores that hunt primarily at night. They are specialist predators on small, warmblooded vertebrates, preferably mammals of rabbit size and smaller. When mammalian prey is scarce, ermine eat birds, eggs, frogs, fish, and insects. In severe climates, ermine frequently hunt under snow and survive entirely on small rodents and lemmings. Daily meals are essential to meet the ermine's exorbitant energy and heat production demands. Ermine cache leftover meals as a way of dealing with these demands.
Reproduction
Ermine are a polygynous-promiscuous species. They mate in late spring to early summer. Females are polyestrous, but produce only 1 litter per year. Young are born in April or May after an average gestation period of 280 days, which includes an 8-9 month period of developmental delay. Longer days beginning in March trigger the resumption of fetal development. Litter size ranges from 3-18 offspring and averages 4-9. The sex ratio is unequal. Young are blind and helpless. They are covered with fine white hair, and a prominent dark mane of dense fur develops around the neck by the third week (function unknown). The young grow quickly and are able to hunt with their mother by their eighth week. Although females do not reach adult size until a least 6 weeks after birth, they are able to mate when they are 60-70 days old, often before they are weaned. Males do not breed or gain adult dimensions until their second summer.
Females in nature may survive for at least 2 breeding seasons, while males generally do not survive this long. Reproductive success is highly dependent on food availability.
Behavior
The ermine's lithe, agile body allows it to move swiftly both above ground and through underground burrows. Females hunt in tunnels more than males, which may explain the higher number of males that are trapped. Ermine can also run easily across snow. This ideal predator hunts in a zigzag pattern, progressing by a series of leaps of up to 50cm each. Ermine investigate every hole and crevice, often stopping to survey their surroundings by raising their heads and standing upright on their hindlegs. They may travel up to 10km or 15km in one night. Once a potential prey is identified, the ermine approaches as closely as possible. With incredible speed it grasps the back of the victim's head and neck with sharp teeth, and wraps its body and feet around the victim. The victim dies from repeated bites to the base of the skull. Ermine have keen senses that help them locate prey. Hares and rodents are mainly followed by scent, insects by sound, and fish by sight.
Ermine population densities fluctuate with prey abundance. When conditions are good, an individual may occupy a 10ha area. The maximum home range size is about 20ha. Home ranges of males are usually twice the size of female home ranges. These solitary mammals maintain exclusive boundaries that are patrolled and marked by scent.
Adult males dominate females and young. Females tend to remain in their birth place throughout their lives. Males disperse and attain large territories that usually encompass or overlap females' territories.
Male and female ermine only associate with one another during the breeding season.
Habitat
Ermine prefer riparian woodlands, marshes, shrubby fencerows, and open areas adjacent to forests or shrub borders. In the southern parts of their range, they live mainly in tundras, especially in vegetative areas next to rocky cover. Although ermine are primarily terrestrial, they climb trees and swim well. Tree roots, hollow logs, stone walls, and rodent burrows are used as dens. Dens are usually around 300mm below ground. Ermine line their nests with dry vegetation, and fur and feathers from prey. Side cavities of burrows are used as food caches and latrines.
Biomes: tundra, taiga, temperate forest & rainforest, temperate grassland, mountains
Economic Importance for Humans
Positive
Humans trap thousands of ermine each season, but the demand for pelts has recently lessened. The white winter fur has long been used in trimming coats and making stoles. Ermine are excellent mousers, which makes them valuable to humans.
Negative
Some farmers claim that ermine kill poultry, but this has rarely been documented.
Conservation
Status: no special status
Sixteen Palaearctic and 20 Nearctic subspecies are recognized.
Other Comments
The average life span of an ermine is 1-2 years; the maximum is 7 years. Potential enemies are usually larger carnivores including red fox, gray fox, martens, fishers, badgers, raptors, and occassionally domestic cats. Many ermine die from a parasitic nematode (Skrjabingylus nasicola) that infects the nasal passage, distorting the sinuses. Eventually the skull is perforated and pressure is exerted on the brain, causing death. Shrews are believed to be the carrier hosts of this parasite.