r/animalid Jul 22 '24

What on earth is this cute little guy? Location: Central Massachusetts. šŸ¦¦ šŸ¦” MUSTELID: WEASEL/MARTEN/BADGER šŸ¦” šŸ¦¦

This curious fella was bouncing around my deck. Very confident and moved around gracefully.

808 Upvotes

334

u/altarwisebyowllight Jul 22 '24

Long-tailed weasel. The tail being as long as the body with a black tip is kind of the hallmark.

21

u/Late_Resource_1653 Jul 22 '24

I am also in Mass, and we just saw a family of these for the first time peeking out from the rocks that line our back yard! Super cute, but I made sure to keep the kids a safe distance. We'd never seen them before, and they haven't come back since.

153

u/bourbon-469 Jul 22 '24

Weasel

52

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

25

u/BrkCaddy Jul 22 '24

Haven't heard that name in years. So I googled him to see what he's been up to. I guess he has a short film coming out during the Sundance festival and he's playing the role of Richard Simmons. I guess it's a life story on Richard.

9

u/smellvin_moiville Jul 22 '24

I hope notā€¦.Simmons said he didnā€™t want it made. Would be pretty Pauly behavior to make it anyway.

3

u/BrkCaddy Jul 22 '24

Idk there's a clip on youtube. And when I searched Pauly you see Richard in the results.

5

u/smellvin_moiville Jul 22 '24

Yea before Simmons passed pauly was begging to make a movie cause he needs a career boost and has always been a nepo and has no idea how to really get work done

7

u/BrkCaddy Jul 22 '24

Probaly right. I know Richard was extremely private the last what 10yrs at least or so. So I could see him not wanting a movie.

0

u/TK421isAFK Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 22 '24

pauly was begging to make a movie cause he needs a career boost

Bullshit. Pauly Shore's mom is Mitzi Shore, the lady that started The Comedy Store in LA. She recently passed away, and she was fucking loaded. She started the careers of many, many comedians, and if you polled the top 20 comedians today, half of them would credit The Comedy Store with their early success.

Pauly Shore inherited 25% of his mom's fortune, the rest going to his three siblings. His brother Peter bought out Pauly and the other two siblings, and now manages The Comedy Store, which is still in the Mitzi Shore Trust. Pauly made about $1 million dollars per movie he made in the 90s, plus all the residuals. Together with his inheritance, he's worth about $30 million.

He also inherited real estate from his mom, and bought real estate early on when he was on MTV, so he's not hurting for money or work at all.

14

u/Boetheus Jul 22 '24

Bullshit? You just spent 3 paragraphs describing how he's like, king of the nepos

2

u/NebulaSome2277 Jul 22 '24

Just a perfect fucking answer!

1

u/TK421isAFK Jul 22 '24

Only is you ignore the "he needs a career boost" part of the answer to which I was replying.

0

u/smellvin_moiville Jul 22 '24

Yeah he did the heavy lifting for me as I slept. He made my points for me lmfao

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-1

u/TK421isAFK Jul 22 '24

No, I countered his stupid statement that Pauly "needs a career boost".

It's not his fault that he was born into a fortunate family. He also worked pretty hard at The Comedy Store and his own career.

1

u/smellvin_moiville Jul 22 '24

He absolutely didnā€™t work hard at the comedy store. Your entire argument explains why Iā€™m right lmao. Have fun at dinner

his mom gave him spots He didnā€™t even work the door

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2

u/cheguevarahatesyou Jul 22 '24

He is the perfect Richard Simmons.

1

u/Individual_Ad3194 Jul 22 '24

At least a couple of years ago he was doing stand-up on the Funny Bone mall circuit.

14

u/Beeegfoothunter Jul 22 '24

ā€œNo weeezing tha joooose!ā€

7

u/cancelprone Jul 22 '24

Buuuuuuudddy

4

u/Beeegfoothunter Jul 22 '24

Buh-deeeeeeeeeeee

2

u/DepressedMammal Jul 22 '24

He's just a little buuuuuuuddy

2

u/Sleepwell_Beast Jul 22 '24

Weezing the juice? Iā€™m ready for the Richard Simmons movie!

2

u/fsantos0213 Jul 22 '24

Quit wheezing the juice

1

u/Available_Usual_7378 Aug 07 '24

We all chillin' with him

57

u/MotownCatMom Jul 22 '24

Looks like a stoat/ermine - a mustelid. But I will let more well-informed members of the sub chime in.

14

u/Riegan_Boogaloo Jul 22 '24

Looks like a cute little stoat to me, too. Got that black tuft on the end, and his tail is pretty mid-length. Weasels (usually) have much longer tails. But theyā€™re all part of the same family, so itā€™s hard to tell them apart sometimes.

11

u/Lucifers_Chariot Jul 22 '24

Heā€™s super cute! How come Iā€™ve never encountered one until today after all these years? Itā€™s really boggling my mind

15

u/Riegan_Boogaloo Jul 22 '24

Donā€™t worry, youā€™re probably not the only one who hasnā€™t seen one of these cuties! Theyā€™re pretty elusive, like to stay hidden and out of sight of natural predators. And theyā€™re quick little guys, so if they spot you before you spot them theyā€™ve probably ducked back into their dens already.

2

u/RunnOftAgain Jul 22 '24

In the winter they turn white and are then called Ermine.

21

u/Lucifers_Chariot Jul 22 '24

Thank you. Thatā€™s what Google suggested it was, but Iā€™ve been living here over 20 years and have never seen something like this. Bizarre.

31

u/PoemAgreeable Jul 22 '24

They are sneaky, weasels. I live somewhere full of them, and I didn't see one for a couple years, until I was looking into the rocks around a culvert and one popped it's head out.

Predator numbers fluctuate greatly with their prey, as well. I rarely see them, and when I do, I usually just see a dead vole bouncing around my yard with the weasel underneath it, carrying the thing.

16

u/AnsibleAnswers Jul 22 '24

Bet youā€™ve never seen a flying squirrel either (I havenā€™t), yet they are native to most of North America. Some animals are quite inconspicuous.

8

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

The only time I saw flying squirrels was during a cicada brood emerging, I was out with my dog because she liked eating the cicadas as they crawled up the trees and my flashlight happened to see a whole group zipping around the top of a maple tree eating fresh cicada

4

u/EastDragonfly1917 Jul 22 '24

My cat brought home two flying squirrels. THATS when he became an inside cat. Apparently flying squirrels are extremely friendly gregarious creatures, visiting friends and family in different houses all the time, even being friendly with different species

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Yeah they looked like they were having the time of their lives

13

u/fkndan Jul 22 '24

I am WEASEL!!

8

u/ThisGuyIRLv2 Jul 22 '24

I are baboon

3

u/fkndan Jul 22 '24

Yes!!! Someone gets it! šŸ˜

2

u/ThisGuyIRLv2 Jul 22 '24

You are welcome, excited Internet stranger!

2

u/kay_el_eff Jul 22 '24

I. M. Weasel, OBGYN

14

u/BeingTop8480 Jul 22 '24

It's a weasel. I've found them in our shed in the winter and they turn white in the winter but keep the black tip on their tail. Very cool sighting and excellent mousers! šŸ’•

3

u/LittleMrsSwearsALot Jul 22 '24

Yep. Seeing a weasel slink out of my shed was how I learned that shed was full of rats. Ewwww.

Theyā€™re really cute, those little weasels, and I wouldnā€™t get within 20 feet of them!

3

u/BeingTop8480 Jul 22 '24

My mom was the one to find it in the shed and came tearing in the house saying there was a baby ferret in the shed. I did have ferrets at the time but I knew it wasn't one of them even before I went out to look. I explained what it was and it needed to stay in there to eat the mice and rats. I also told her they're vicious little beasts so leave them alone.

7

u/kidfantastic Jul 22 '24

You should look up Ozzy the Weasel on You Tube. I think Ozzy is a slightly different model to yours, but dammit he super cute, and a lovely way to waste a couple of minutes on YT.

6

u/Lynx_180 Jul 22 '24

Longtailed weasel

7

u/No-Ferret-1312 Jul 22 '24

Looks like a Stoat, pound for pound the baddest thing on 4legs. They will take down a large rabbit.

4

u/-mykie- Jul 22 '24

Long tailed weasel.

3

u/faloofay156 Jul 22 '24

šŸŽ¶...weasel weasel if you please'll...šŸŽ¶

Cough that's a weasel

3

u/TMCTTFDaddy Jul 22 '24

That looks like a Stout. Longer tail with dark at the tip.

3

u/NoRoutine3220 Jul 22 '24

Looks like a Stoat. They are cute!

5

u/fucknaye Jul 22 '24

Atā€™s a weasel mate. Must be weasel season. Itā€™ll have a run at you if ya not lookin. Sneaky little buggas. Soon as you have a look see theyā€™ll hop away sideways. Canā€™t be trusted these bloody weasels.

5

u/daddysprincess9138 Jul 22 '24

I want you to know I read this in fluent wallaby, no disrespect intended

3

u/fucknaye Jul 22 '24

But is a wallaby really fluent at more than pissin on a good roast when Iā€™m on to skull a snubby? I think no. Rodents.

3

u/daddysprincess9138 Jul 22 '24

My sentiments exactly.

2

u/Funkopedia Jul 22 '24

love that posture

2

u/_Gameboy_123 Jul 22 '24

I think thatā€™s a weasel

2

u/B0rnReady Jul 22 '24

It's weasel business... Which is none of your bug business

2

u/DesignerTex Jul 22 '24

Pauly Shore. IYKYK.

2

u/Silly_Revenue3756 Jul 22 '24

Ermine (stoat)

2

u/MuchSeaworthiness167 Jul 22 '24

I just watched a video last night about this little guy! Stoats! Brown or Gray/Brown with whiteish bellies. In the same family as weasels and minks. Carnivorous, mostly hunting rodents but can take down prey larger than themselves. Mainly solitary but born in litters of six to twelve and stinking cute when theyā€™re play fighting. Also, considered invasive in certain parts of Central America. The video I watched involved a guy rehabilitating one caught in his garden.

2

u/tianxing-wang Jul 22 '24

In Chinese culture, weasel is the house protector, should be worshipped at all times.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

2

u/Cat-Mama_2 Jul 22 '24

OMG, look at him!! I would die for this weasel and I'm not even kidding.

1

u/Ambitious-Pin8396 Jul 22 '24

Aren't these little weasels on the threatened or endangered species list?

2

u/ObjectReport Jul 22 '24

It's a least weasel, aka: "meat missile" aka "war noodle" They're cute as hell but also deadly hunters.

1

u/BusinessYam6078 Jul 22 '24

Its a weeezahhlll -P. Shore

1

u/Classic-Ad-2107 Jul 22 '24

Sort of off topic but in my neighborhood in NNJ they rediscovered ā€œ Minkā€ . Apparently there was a mink farm a hundred years ago and some survived and apparently thrived. šŸ¤·šŸ»

1

u/Adventurous-Cod1415 Jul 22 '24

Looks like a short-tailed weasel (aka ermine) in its summer coat.

1

u/Gogurl72 Jul 22 '24

Is a weasel the same as a ferret?

1

u/neovenator250 Jul 22 '24

No. They're different animals. Both members of the mustelid family though

1

u/Gogurl72 Jul 22 '24

Oh ok. Ty!

1

u/Agreeable-Village-25 Jul 22 '24

Weasel.

Don't let the cute looks fool you; they are voracious predators, killing prey much larger than themselves, and will kill for sport...they'll kill every chicken in a coop if they get in.

1

u/Kchasse1991 Jul 22 '24

Stoat. Those little guys are beasts! Taking down rabbits that are like 10x their size! Weasels are crazy!

1

u/ElusiveDoodle Jul 22 '24

They are such fun to watch, I hope you dont keep chickens...

Is this the right place to say a weasel is weasily recognised, but a stoat is stoatally different?

1

u/jcyree2769 Jul 22 '24

It's like the beloved book called Rikki Tikki Tavi. They're the biggest predator of snakes.

-1

u/Distinct-Cover-686 Jul 22 '24

Common weasel. Also known as a stoat.

0

u/ShmcksofEvil Jul 22 '24

It's al Arlington aka "The Weasel"

0

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

It kills chickens never seen one in the wild

-1

u/Zck884 Jul 22 '24

Weasel > or mink

-3

u/Typical_Guarantee490 Jul 22 '24

It looks like a pine Martin

-5

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Lucifers_Chariot Jul 22 '24

In North America? I figured they were in Africa or Asia