
Weasels Are Built for the Hunt - Vigier
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/science/weasels-are-built-for-the-hunt.html
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nkurz
I recently watched a wild weasel, and learned something that should have been
obvious: they are excellent tree climbers! Not "they can eventually make it up
a tree", but almost "custom designed for the purpose".

This makes sense, as they are closely related to martens, who are agile enough
in trees to chase down and eat grey squirrels[1]. But somehow I'd never made
the connection, and had thought of weasels as ground-bound.

[1] [https://theconversation.com/resurgent-pine-martens-could-
be-...](https://theconversation.com/resurgent-pine-martens-could-be-good-news-
for-red-squirrels-46051)

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davidhegarty
I know this thread is about Weasels... but can I just use this opportunity to
drop a recommendation for one of the funniest documentaries ever made:
[https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-
Ferrets/dp/B000RL2...](https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Excellence-
Ferrets/dp/B000RL21RW)

(I think it's available to stream on Prime)

~~~
sgrove
I have Prime, but I can't seem to figure out how to stream it - it only shows
the option if I'm not logged in. Anyone know where to click?

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Buttons840
Are you sure it's available to stream?

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hatchnyc
Weasels are amazing creatures, highly intelligent, playful, and very friendly.
It is a shame that so many negative misconceptions persist and are perpetually
reinforced in the media, especially movies where ferrets are used as a comedic
stand in for "vicious wild animal". Hopefully this article will help change
that.

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Aelinsaar
There are few things more charming and bizarrely cute than the 'Weasel War
Dance'.

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spdegabrielle
Primates are not the only game in town.

[http://youtu.be/uZOjwzInj2g](http://youtu.be/uZOjwzInj2g)

~~~
Aelinsaar
That video is the cure for depression, in cuddly form.

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i336_
Here's the source video of that GIF I would imagine everyone's seen:
[https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=476393822444](https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=476393822444)

The same author posted a different video of the same tree to YT:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYlhQKmDovk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYlhQKmDovk)

Then there's this video of a pet (edge-case rescue) least weasel, which is a
definite candidate for relevancy here (along with all the other videos in the
associated YT account):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6oaDzy0-Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy6oaDzy0-Q)

Also, I'm not sure if you'll see it, but YT's video relevancy/subject analysis
system is neat:
[http://i.imgur.com/zvLG5nu.png](http://i.imgur.com/zvLG5nu.png)

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emptybits
Weasel story. At a small software company I worked for in the early 1990s,
management included staff in a rebranding exercise. It was suggested (by
management) that a majestic eagle could represent the firm and appear in
corporate imagery. Reasonable.

But we were a blue chip financial software company serving the Corporate
Treasury function so several of us in R&D endorsed the weasel as a superior
image. We invoked Stephen Wright: "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get
sucked into jet engines." Clearly a trustworthy, safe, and reliable choice for
our clients.

Management went with the eagle.

And now I learn that weasels are also prolific hunters?? Sigh.

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SAI_Peregrinus
There are some people who hunt using mink (a type of mustelid). eg:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT_wuVD1eHc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT_wuVD1eHc)

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reseal05
It's mostly one guy in the Salt Lake City area who enjoys the challenge and
uses his video channel to convince a few others to do the same. He's a real
expert in animal handling whose obsession with hunting and willfulness (no one
could convince him that minks were impossible to tame) seem to help him relate
to mustelids. But minks' stubborn and feisty temperaments make them some of
the most difficult animals of their size for most people to keep as pets. I
follow this community pretty closely.

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fhood
I feel that they should have included more otter and weasel pictures. Because
otters and weasels are super cute.

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mod
Do one thing, and do it well.

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josephcooney
The flip-side: Specialization is for insects.

