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Ermine or stoat Mustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758

Distribution

In India the ermine has been recorded above 3600 m in the western Himalayas from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir but not further east in the Himalayas (Roberts 1977). Outside India it occurs in Pakistan, Mongolia, northern China, throughout Russia, and northern and southern Europe (Wozencraft 1993).

Description

In external appearance all members of the genus Mustela can be distinguished from the martens by their comparatively smaller size, longer and more cylindrical body, shorter legs and tail, smaller ears and abbreviated muzzle. The ermine is small in size around 130 gm in weight having a longer neck and short limbs. The head bears a rather blunt obtuse muzzle with naked black rhinarium and dark almost black eyes (Roberts 1977). The overall body colour during summer is glossy chestnut brown, usually of a rather dark reddish hue. Frequently there are flecks of white on various parts of the head (Pocock 1941). The chin, throat, belly and the paws are creamy white. The slender round tail is not much bushy as compared to martens and has a conspicuous tip of black hair. In the white winter phase, hair wholly conceal the pads of the feet. However, the tip of the tail remains blackish throughout the year (Pocock 1941). The length of the head and body ranges between 184 and 229 mm, and tail from 70-89 mm.

The Indian subspecies is M. erminea ferghanae Thomas, 1895.

Behaviour

The ermine is exclusively carnivorous and normally solitary in nature; it hunts both during day and night. It is adapted to living on the ground. In Pakistan it preys almost exclusively on high altitude voles (Alticola roylei and Hyperacrius fertilis). It probably also attacks Royle’s pika (Ochotona roylei) and birds (Roberts 1977). It occasionally eats birds’ eggs and insects and frequently pursues voles. The ermine lives in burrows already dug by rodents and among boulders nearer to rocky areas and also close to river banks, streams as well as along the banks of lakes and ponds. (Pocock 1941, Kruska 1990). Mating occurs during April to July. The young ones are born in the following year between February and May. The gestation period varies between 220 and 380 days. In ermine, the embryo does not develop continuously but has a resting phase. Such prolonged gestation period has been recorded in many species of Mustelidae, an adaptation to avoid unfavorable conditions. The ermine produces one litter per year. The average litter size is six, ranging between 5 and 13. The weight of the newborn varies between 2.6 and 4.2 gm (Kruska 1990). Adult size is reached after three to four months. Males reach maturity at the age of one year. Suckling pregnancy (i.e. female can mate successfully at the early age of five weeks when they are still suckling) occurs in ermine which is rare in mustelids (Kruska 1990).

Conservation status

It is listed in Schedule I part I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Appendix III of CITES, and DD during the CAMP Workshop.

| Introduction | Mustelids | Viverrids | Herpestids | 
| Conservation Significance | References |