I had an animal get into my house and i could not figure out what it was because i did not recognize its markings and coloring. It had a white belly and dark gray coloring on it s back with a black bushy part at the end of its tail. it looked just like a weasel but about half the size. i tried to lure it back outside with some dog food, grapes and cheese but it would not eat any even though it showed interest by sniffing at me when i held the food out. it was skiddish but did not seem to be bothered by people being around. it liked to watch us from hiding places but if i looked away for a second it would disappear.
After doing some research i discovered that it was an ermine or stoat. These animals are part of the mustelid family which means that they communicate chemically with scent glands. I found this articles http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/ermine.htm about ermine which helped me identify it and understand why it was behaving the way it was. When they are startles or defending themselves, an ermine will release a strong musky odor from its anal glands after stomping its feet. they usually don't make sounds but i did hear it squeak when i first found it in the house. I have not yet detected a musky scent but i am not sure that the ermine has felt threatened enough to let the scent out.
Ermine are mostly solitary animals except during mating season and when females raise young. An ermines home range can vary from 25 to 100 acres. They can also use more than one den at once living in the burrows of previous prey animals. They are omnivorous, so i don't know why it would not eat the food that i offered unless it will only eat freshly killed animals. The fact that they often occupy previous burrows of prey makes me think that it caught a squirrel or mouse living in the house. The article said that starvation is one of the main causes of death in ermine because of its high metabolism.
One thing that i am wondering is how would i go about trapping an ermine to let it loose outside again?
Posted by Amber Kapchinske
I would suggest getting a Have a Heart trap and coaxing it in with something similar to what it would eat in the wild. Chances are it is pretty stressed from the situation so you may need to call animal control, or some professionals to help you.
ReplyDeleteWow an ermine, where was this in the house? If it's an ermine you may be able to see it molt from its brown coat to white since its almost the time when they're done doing that (late Nov). A better choice for bait would be meat but as Lora suggested you're better off just calling a professional.
ReplyDeletePosted by Daniel Solomon
I would also recommend the have a heart traps or a large sherman trap. I think ermines are mostly carnivores so you might try some meat as bait if it isn't out of your house yet. Any update on the ermine though? Is it still inside? Or were you able to coax it out/call a professional?
ReplyDelete-Alex Sprague
How often do they change burrows? After killing a new prey item or only when they find a burrow "superior" to what they are currently occupying?
ReplyDeleteIf it can get out the way it came in then perhaps it will leave when it finds a better burrow outside.
The Ermine can pursue squirrels or chipmunks into their trees, killing them usually very quickly with one bite into the neck of the animal.
ReplyDeletei did not find anything on the frequency of burrow takeovers but I found this new article that may answer the question about burrows and feeding. it says that an ermine will fallow an animal into its home and kill it quickly. It does not always finish the meal, however. Sometimes it returns to the kill spot until the remains are finished. (http://www.itsnature.org/ground/mammals-land/ermine/)
Read more: http://www.itsnature.org/ground/mammals-land/ermine/#ixzz1654VsZ2I
Update on the ermine!
ReplyDeleteit is gone from the house! it was only witnessed for two days inside the house. With the above information, i believe that it followed a squirrel chipmunk or mouse into the house, killed it and stayed in the house until it was finished eating its kill.
Pretty amazing experience. i have never seen an animal so curious about people before. it was kind of creepy the way it watched me sometimes.
Posted by amber kapchinske
Thank you for all the suggestions on how to get the ermine out of the house!
ReplyDeleteAmber Kapchinske