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Yellow-bellied weasel Mustela kathiah Hodgson, 1835

Distribution

The yellow-bellied weasel is distributed in the Himalayas between the altitude of 1800 and 4000 m from northern Pakistan, through Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh (Kumaun and Garhwal), West Bengal, Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh (Pocock 1941, Katti, et al. 1990, ZSI 1992, Choudhury 1997a, 1999, Datta 1999). Outside India it has been reported from Nepal, Bhutan eastwards from upper Myanmar, south and east China, northern Vietnam and Laos PDR (Pocock 1941, Kruska 1990, Wozencraft 1993). Recent sightings have been made from Nagaland and Meghalaya (see Choudhary, Status Report 2, this issue).

Description

In yellow-bellied weasel the colour on dorsal parts, the entire tail and of the front and outside of the limbs is deep chocolate-brown. The edge of the upper lip, the chin and a little of the fore throat are whitish, but the rest of the underside is sulphur yellow extending on the inner side of the thighs. The tail is more than half the length of head and body. The pads of the feet are not always covered with hair. The head to body length ranges between 215 and 290 mm and the tail length varies between 125 and 190 mm. The weight is around 1.56 kg.

Behaviour

The yellow-bellied weasel is one of the least studied species. Very little is known about its biology and ecology. Pocock (1941) mentioned that in Nepal it is kept as a pet for eradicating rodents from the house. He has also mentioned that it was pitted against fowls, geese and even goat and sheep. From this description it seems plausible that in respect to its behaviour it might be similar to other weasels such as Siberian weasels.

Conservation status

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

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