Tairas live in Central and South America. Their range stretches from southern Mexico to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The main habitat is primarily rainforests.

Tyras reach a length of 56 to 68 cm, to which is added a tail length of 38 to 47 cm. The weight of these animals is from 4 to 5 kg.

They are active mainly at night and are found both on the ground and in trees. They climb well and can cover considerable distances by jumping. In addition, they are good swimmers. For peace, they build their own shelters in tree hollows or use the abandoned buildings of other animals. Sometimes they just hide in the tall grass.

There is various information about the social behavior of Taira. They are found individually, in pairs or in small clan groups. Tyras are omnivores, but the bulk of their food consists of small mammals. They hunt rodents such as spiny chinchillas, hares or small mazams. Their prey also includes birds, invertebrates, and they like to eat fruit.

At the end of pregnancy, which lasts up to 70 days, the female gives birth to two cubs. In the second month of life, they open their eyes and wean off milk by the age of three months. In captivity, these animals live up to 18 years.

Great grison

Great Grison

(Galictis vittata)

Distributed in Central and South America (Bolivia, Northern Argentina, southern Brazil).

Reaches a length of 48 to 55 cm and a weight of 1.4 to 3.3 kg.

They live in primary and secondary tropical forests, both lowland and mountain; in deciduous forests, palm savannas, plantations and partially flooded rice fields. They are often found near rivers, streams and wetlands, at altitudes up to 1,500 m above sea level.

The diet of grisons has not been studied enough - it is known that they eat small vertebrates, mainly mammals and birds, and in rural areas they sometimes attack local chickens. By analyzing the stomach contents of grisons from different parts of their range, they were able to determine their approximate diet: diurnal rodents (cotton hamsters), spiny rats, amews, long-eared doves, North American possums, mochas (mountain pigs), amphibians (and even an aga toad). In Panama, grisons eat agoutis, eels and characins.

In search of food, animals walk several kilometers a day, and the distance between daily resting places is 2-3 km. Grisons move quickly along a zigzag path, deviating sideways from the line of travel by 1-2 meters. Moving even on maximum speed, they never gallop. When examining unfamiliar objects located in the distance, they move carefully and slowly, practically pressing their belly to the ground, as if pushing themselves forward with their outstretched hind legs. They also pay attention to any holes encountered along the way, voids in the ground and in tree trunks. For daytime rest, agoutis sometimes linger in abandoned burrows.

Grisons are diurnal animals, but are also active at night. At noon, the animals rest for several hours (up to 4-5). The prey is often taken to the shelter, where it is eaten. Grisons are distinguished by their courage and bloodthirstiness. Settling close to human habitations, they often cause great damage to the number of poultry. They kill rodents and other prey with a quick bite to the back of the neck. Animals have a good sense of smell, but their vision is weak. These are excellent swimmers and dive well.

The secretion is produced by glands located near the anus and has a unique musky odor, although not as unpleasant as that of other mustelids. Alarmed grisons jump to the side, raise their tail hairs, and then release a musky secretion from their anal glands. They can hit a musky stream quite accurately at a very specific target.

Grisons are social animals. They hunt only in pairs or in family groups. Sometimes there were cases where several animals played together. Hunting grounds cover an area of ​​up to 4.2 km 2 for lactating females, and the average population density is about 1-2.4 individuals/km 2 . Grisons mark their territory with secretions from musk glands by rubbing the base of their tail against various objects.

Reproduction occurs throughout the year. Before giving birth, the female makes a den in a cave, hollow or under the roots of trees; sometimes the female uses abandoned armadillo holes for these purposes. Pregnancy lasts 39-40 days. The female gives birth to 1 to 4 cubs (average 2), whose eyes are closed. Newborn puppies weigh about 50 grams. The eyes open after 14 days, and by 3 weeks the cubs can eat meat. Puppies become fully independent when they reach 4 months of age. At this age, the anal glands of young grisons are already active.

Small grison

Lesser Grison

(Galictis cuja)

Inhabits central and southern regions South America(Southern Peru, Paraguay, and from Central Chile the range expands southward to the Argentine province of Chubuta).

The length of the small grison ranges from 28 to 51 cm, and the weight ranges from 1.0 to 2.5 kg.

Prefers a wide range of habitats: arid areas of the Chaco, and areas with extensive vegetation with various bodies of water. The most common habitat types are deciduous and evergreen forests, savannas and mountainous areas (up to 4000 m above sea level).

The diet includes various small animals: rodents, birds (grebes, terns, etc.) and their eggs, amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates, fruits of some plants, and sometimes chickens. In places where the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) acclimatizes, it becomes the basis of grison food.

Lesser grisons are active both during the day and at night. The shelters used are very varied: hollow trees, crevices, piles of boulders, holes of other animals or cavities at the roots of trees. It happens that four or five individuals occupy one hole. Grisons' feet, instead of digging or swimming, are adapted for running and climbing - the soles are bare and curved claws grow on the toes.

For intraspecific communication, animals widely use both audio and tactile communication. Tactile communication plays an important role between members of a married couple, competitors, mothers and their offspring. Smells, thanks to well-developed anal glands, play an important role in grison communication. The anal glands produce a strong odor only when the animal is highly aroused.

Lesser grisons are more social animals than other mustelid species; they were often found in groups of 2 or more individuals. Moreover, such a group consisted, as a rule, of adult animals and females with young ones.

IN mating season pairs form for a short time, and after mating, males can form a new pair with another female. After mating, the female begins to develop embryos. There is no delay in embryo development. Pregnancy lasts 39-40 days. The female gives birth to 2-5 helpless, blind and naked cubs in a hole or den.

Wolverine

Wolverine

(Gulo gulo)

Distributed in the taiga, forest-tundra and partly in the tundra of Eurasia and North America. In Western Europe, it is preserved in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula and in Finland. In Russia, the border of its range passes through the Leningrad and Vologda regions and the Perm region; Wolverine is widespread in Siberia. One of the US states, Michigan, is called the “Wolverine State”.

Body weight 9-18 kg, length 70-86 cm, tail length 18-23 cm.

Wolverine is a strong, cautious and at the same time daring animal, leading a solitary lifestyle. Only occasionally, for example, near large carrion, can several individuals temporarily gather. The wolverine makes its lair under uprooted roots, in rock crevices and other secluded places; comes out to feed at dusk. Unlike most mustelids, which lead a sedentary lifestyle, the wolverine constantly wanders in search of prey throughout its individual territory, which occupies up to 1,500-2,000 km 2. Thanks to powerful paws, long claws and a tail that acts as a pendulum, the wolverine easily climbs trees. He has sharp eyesight, but relatively weak hearing and sense of smell. Makes sounds similar to a fox's yelp, but rougher.

Wolverine is omnivorous. The basis of its nutrition is the remains of the prey of wolves and bears. She also loves snowshoe hares, woodland birds (grouse, hazel grouse, etc.) and mouse-like rodents. Less often hunts large ungulates; its victims are usually young, wounded or sick animals. Can recapture prey from other predators (wolves, lynxes). It often ruins the winter quarters of hunters and steals prey from traps. In summer it eats bird eggs, wasp larvae, berries and honey. Catches fish - near wormwood or during spawning; willingly picks up dead fish. Wolverine is useful as a sanitation worker who destroys animals.

Wolverine is a slow animal. As a rule, it watches for prey in ambush, hiding along a path, climbing over ravines, or climbing small trees and suddenly rushing at an approaching animal. Jumping onto their back, the wolverine is capable of inflicting fatal wounds (in particular, by biting the carotid artery) to deer, cows and elk. Hunts birds, grabbing them on the ground when they are sleeping or sitting on nests.

Mating most often occurs between April and July. The male and female stay together for only a few weeks. The fertilized egg, however, does not begin to divide immediately. Normal embryonic development begins only after 7-8 months, and after about 30-40 days of effective pregnancy, most often in February or March, the female gives birth to two to four cubs in sheltered places. After 4 weeks they open their eyes and feed on their mother's milk for 10 weeks. The mother then gives them semi-digested food. After 3 months, the cubs become adults, but remain with their mother for another 2 years.

North African weasel

Saharan Striped Polecat

(Ictonyx libyca)

Distributed in North Africa: Southern Nigeria, Sudan, Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara.

Body length - 20-28.5 cm, tail 11-18 cm. Weight - 200-250 g.

Inhabits anthropogenic landscapes on the border with the desert. For example, in Morocco, North African weasels are often found in steppe zones with rich low and dense vegetation, as well as in mountain valleys.

The diet includes birds and their eggs, small rodents and amphibians, reptiles (lizards), invertebrates and insects.

It is nocturnal and spends the day in burrows that it digs itself. The breeding season lasts from January to March.

Zoril

Zorilla

(Ictonyx striatus)

Distributed in sub-Saharan Africa: from Senegal and Nigeria to South Africa.

Body length 28.5-38.5 cm, tail 20.5-30 cm. Weight of females - 596-880 g, males 681-1460 g.

Zorilla usually inhabits a wide variety of habitats, and lives primarily in savannah and open fields. Avoids dense evergreen forests.

This carnivore feeds mainly on mouse-like rodents, hares, large insects, sometimes bird eggs, snakes and other animals. In times of hunger, it can also consume carrion.

It is nocturnal and can only occasionally be seen at sunset or dawn before it hides in its burrow. During the day, the animal takes refuge in self-dug holes, occasionally in rock crevices, in hollow trunks, between tree roots and even under houses. Sometimes it uses abandoned holes previously dug by other animals. Animals are especially often found on natural pastures, where wild ungulates and local livestock graze. These animals flush out various insects hiding in the grass, which allows the zorilla to catch and eat beetles, orthoptera and other insects and their larvae. Here, on pastures, where there is an abundance of manure, which is food for numerous beetles, the highest density of zorilla is observed.

When in an open place, animals make frequent stops or changes in the direction of movement, quickly running from place to place. These changes in direction of travel are almost instantaneous. It is likely that such maneuvers help prevent an attack from any enemy, especially feathered predators, due to the impossibility of a targeted throw on their part.

When a dog or other enemy appears, the zorilla ruffles its fur, raises its tail, and then releases the odorous musky secretion of its anal glands. The zorilla, like the skunk, can accurately “shoot” its odorous secretion over considerable distances. Although the smell of their secretions is not as “fragrant” and pungent as that of the American striped skunk, it is nevertheless unpleasant and long-lasting. When a Zorilla is attacked by a strong enemy, it can feign death if there is nowhere to run.

Leads a solitary lifestyle. Marriage relations have not been studied. Males are always aggressive towards each other. Males and females tolerate each other only during the mating period. Mating can last 60-100 minutes. The female gives birth to one litter per season, but if all the babies die at a very young age, then the female can produce a second offspring just before the end of the mating season. Pregnancy lasts about 36-37 days. In a burrow, the female gives birth to 1-4 cubs, usually 2-3. The weight of puppies at birth is 12-15 g. The carnassial teeth in young people appear on the 33rd day, the eyes open on the 40th day. Lactation lasts up to 4-5 months, although young zorillas begin to hunt and can kill small rodents as early as nine weeks of age.

Patagonian weasel

Patagonian Weasel

(Lyncodon patagonicus)

Distributed in the plains of Pampa in its area with light soil.

Body length is 30-35 cm, the tail is 9 cm. Weight on average is 225 g.

The Patagonian weasel is a carnivore, eating small rodents: tuco-tuco (Ctenomys) and mountain pigs (Microcavia).

Active at dusk and at night. The individual site of a male overlaps several sites of females. The paraanal glands are poorly developed; during defense (being driven into a corner) it does not use them, but raises the hair on its neck. Leads a solitary lifestyle, creating pairs only during the breeding season.

Until now, practically nothing is known about the reproduction of Patagonian weasels. It is known that only the female takes care of the offspring.

African weasel

African Striped Weasel

(Poecilogale albinucha)

Distributed in South and Central Africa in the Sahara Desert region.

The head and body account for 25-36 cm, the tail 13-23 cm. The weight of males is 28.3-38 g, females - 23-29 g.

Inhabits various biotopes (fields, forests, swamps, savannas, deserts) up to 2200 m above sea level.

The diet of the African weasel includes small mammals (rodents - African polymammated rats, striped mice, pygmy mice), shrews, birds (sparrows, turtle doves), reptiles (snakes), insects and their larvae. A weasel eats up to 13% of its body weight per day, and females eat up to 25% when feeding puppies. It begins to eat small rodents and birds from the head. The skin from the belly, head, paws and tail of large prey is not eaten.

Mainly nocturnal and terrestrial, it climbs trees well. As shelters, it uses burrows that it digs itself or uses rodent burrows or termite mounds. It digs holes with its front paws and pushes the soil back with its hind paws. For rest, it sometimes uses hollow logs or crevices in stones and rocks. The weasel is active all year round and spends most of its time in its burrow, leaving it only to hunt. During hunting, it uses the sense of smell and vision for spatial orientation.

Sniffing out rodents, it walks with its nose buried in the ground, while arching its back, and carrying its tail horizontally. Thanks to its long flexible body and short legs, it can chase rodents right into their burrows. The weasel does not eat its prey on the spot, but takes it to its burrow. It stores part of its prey in a niche, which it builds right there in the burrow. The rodent bites the back of the head, and then rolls along with the prey around its axis and hits it with its front paws. Birds are killed by a bite to the head, without the use of paws. Females bite large prey by the throat.

The prianal glands are well developed, the secretion of which is used for protection against predators. When suddenly frightened, the African weasel can jump up sharply, causing the hair on its tail to stand on end. When pursued by a predator, it often climbs trees or into holes; if there is nothing suitable, then the weasel emits a half-growl, half-scream, and if this does not help, it shoots a caustic secretion from the anal glands (with an accuracy of 1 m).

The African weasel is primarily a solitary animal, but both pairs and small groups occur. Mating lasts 60-80 minutes; there can be three matings per day. The female gives birth to one litter per year. If the first litter dies for some reason, the female mates a second time. Males do not take part in raising offspring. If a nest with cubs is disturbed, the female carries the pups, holding them by the scruff of the neck. Pregnancy: lasts 30-33 days. A litter usually contains 2-3 hairless, blind puppies weighing 4 grams each. The eyes open at 7 weeks. Teeth erupt by 35 days. Lactation lasts up to 11 weeks (at this age the young weigh 50 grams), at 13 weeks the puppies begin to try to hunt, and become completely independent at the age of 20 weeks.

American marten

American Martin

(Martes americana)

Distributed in Canada and the northern part of the USA.

Males reach a length from 75 cm to 1 m, weight from 3250 g to 6500 g. Females are smaller, from 50 cm to 68 cm and weigh from 1850 g to 4000 g.

Inhabits dark coniferous forests: mature coniferous forests of pine, spruce and other trees. Stands with a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, including white pine, yellow birch, maple, fir and spruce.

The diet of the American marten includes a variety of food: red squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, voles, partridges and their eggs, fish, frogs, insects, honey, mushrooms, seeds. If food is scarce, the marten can eat almost anything that is edible, including plant matter and carrion.

It is mainly a nocturnal mammal, but is also active at dusk (morning and evening), and often during the day. The marten is very agile - it jumps from branch to branch in the trees, marking its paths of movement with the smell of its glands. Hunts alone. Well adapted to climbing trees, where it catches squirrels in their nests at night. He kills his victim with a bite to the back of the head, breaking cervical vertebrae and destroying spinal cord victims. In winter, martens dig a tunnel under the snow in search of mouse-like rodents.

The anal and abdominal scent glands are well developed and are characteristic of all representatives of the mustelid family.

Martens have a good appetite, they are very curious, which is why they sometimes get into trouble, for example, falling into traps and various traps.

Male American martens are territorial: they defend their territory. Animals walk around their territory every 8-10 days. Neither males nor females tolerate strangers of the same sex in their territory, and behave very aggressively towards them. The size of an individual plot is not stable and depends on a number of factors: the size of the animal, the abundance of food, the presence of fallen trees, etc. Tagging of the animals showed that some of them live sedentary, while others roam (mostly young animals).

Males and females meet each other only during two months - July and August, when the rut occurs; the rest of the time they lead a solitary lifestyle. The male and female find each other using scent marks left by the anal glands. After mating, fertilized eggs do not develop immediately, but remain dormant in the uterus for another 6-7 months. Pregnancy after the latent period is 2 months. The male does not take any part in raising the offspring. For childbirth, the female prepares a nest, which is lined with grass and other plant material. The nest is located in hollow trees, logs or other voids.

Pregnancy lasts on average 267 days. The female gives birth to up to 7 puppies (average 3-4). Newborn puppies are blind and deaf, weighing 25-30 g. Ears open on the 26th day, and eyes after 39. Lactation lasts up to 2 months. At 3-4 months, puppies can already get their own food.

Kharza

Yellow-throated Marten

(Martes flavigula)

The main part of the harza's range covers the Greater Sunda Islands, the Malay Peninsula, Indochina, the foothills of the Himalayas, China and the Korean Peninsula. A separate isolated habitat area is located in the south of the Hindustan Peninsula. In Russia it is found in the Amur region, in the Ussuri River basin and in Sikhote-Alin.

Body length 55-80 cm, tail 35-44 cm; weighs up to 5.7 kg.

Kharza is a typical animal of coniferous and mixed forests. Prefers to settle on mountain slopes and river banks. In Burma, it settles in swamps, and in Pakistan - in deserted, treeless mountains. It stays mainly on the ground, although it climbs trees very well. It runs very fast, and when jumping from tree to tree, it makes leaps of up to 4 m. It usually leads a nomadic lifestyle.

Kharza is one of the most strong predators Ussuri taiga. It feeds on rodents (squirrels, mice, chipmunks), grasshoppers, mollusks, hares, and birds (hazel grouse, pheasants). It also attacks young ungulates - wild boar, wapiti, elk, roe deer, sika deer, goral. Often attacks raccoon dogs, weasels and sables. Consumes berries and pine nuts in small quantities; feasts on honeycombs. But the most favorite prey of the harza is musk deer.

Unlike other martens, in winter the kharza can hunt in groups of 3-5 individuals. The animals take turns chasing their prey; or some drive it, while others wait in ambush. When hunting musk deer, the kharza also uses the following technique: it drives the victim onto a frozen river or lake, where the musk deer slides on the ice and can fall. When chasing prey, harzas make sounds reminiscent of barking, which apparently coordinates their actions. By spring, the hunting group breaks up. The Kharzas begin to hunt alone, rummaging through squirrel holes at night, and during the day - through hollows where flying squirrels and other small inhabitants of the taiga sleep.

There are few natural enemies; Many Kharzas live to a ripe old age. Once in captivity, especially when young, the harza easily gets used to humans and becomes completely tame.

Harzas rut ​​at the end of summer (in August). Pregnancy lasts 120 days. There are 2-5 cubs in a litter. The cubs stay with their mother until spring, learning hunting skills from her. After leaving their mother, the youth still hunt together for some time.

Stone marten

Stone Martin

(Martes foina)

Inhabits most of Eurasia. Its distribution area stretches from the Iberian Peninsula to Mongolia and the Himalayas.

These animals reach a body length of 40 to 55 cm, and a tail length of 22 to 30 cm. The weight of the stone marten ranges from 1.1 to 2.3 kg.

Stone martens are active mainly at night, and during the day they hide in their shelters. Their natural shelters are rock crevices, piles of stones and abandoned structures of other animals (stone martens themselves do not build or dig them). Near settlements, stone martens often use attics or stables for this purpose. Nests are lined with hair, feathers or plant material. At night, stone martens go in search of prey, moving mainly on the ground. Although the stone marten can climb trees well, it rarely does so.

Like most martens, stone martens lead a solitary lifestyle and, outside the mating season, avoid contact with their relatives. Each individual has a habitat, which it marks with a special secretion and protects from other stone martens of its sex. The area of ​​such a habitat may vary, but as a rule it is less than that of the pine marten. It can range from 12 to 210 hectares and depends, among other things, on gender (males have larger habitats than females), the time of year (in winter the habitats are smaller than in summer) and on the presence of prey in it.

Stone martens are omnivores that eat primarily meat. They hunt small mammals (for example, rodents or rabbits), birds and their eggs, frogs, insects and others. In summer, an important part of their diet is plant food, which includes berries and fruits. Sometimes stone martens enter chicken coops or pigeon coops. The panicky throwing of birds causes a predatory reflex in them, forcing them to kill all possible prey, even if its quantity far exceeds what they are able to eat.

Mating takes place in the summer months from June to August, but due to the conservation of the seed in the female’s body, the offspring are born only in the spring (from March to April). Thus, eight months pass between mating and childbirth, while the pregnancy itself lasts only one month. As a rule, three or four cubs are born at a time, which are initially blind and naked. After a month, they open their eyes for the first time, another month later they wean themselves off milk feeding, and in the fall they become independent. Puberty occurs between 15 and 27 months of age. The average lifespan in the wild is three years, with the most successful individuals living up to ten years. In captivity, stone martens become much older and live up to 18 years.

Pine marten

European Pine Marten

(Martes martes)

Distributed almost throughout Europe. Their range extends from the British Isles to Western Siberia and in the south from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus and Alborz. They are not found in Iceland and northern Scandinavia and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The habitat of these animals is forests, primarily deciduous and mixed. In mountainous areas it occurs up to altitudes where trees still grow.

The body length ranges from 45 to 58 cm, the tail length ranges from 16 to 28 cm, and the weight ranges from 0.8 to 1.8 kg.

Pine martens are much more tree dwellers than other marten species. They can climb and jump well, while covering distances of up to 4 meters. When climbing, they are able to rotate their feet 180°. Structures are created in their habitat, mainly in hollows, or they use abandoned squirrel structures, as well as nests birds of prey. They retire to these buildings to rest in daytime, and at dusk and at night they go in search of prey.

Pine martens are animals with pronounced territorial behavior, marking their range with the help of a secretion secreted by the anal gland. They defend the boundaries of their range from their same-sex relatives, but the ranges of males and females often overlap. The size of such ranges varies greatly, although the ranges of males are always larger than those of females. Differences are also observed in connection with the seasons - in winter the ranges of individual individuals are up to 50% smaller than in summer.

Pine martens are omnivores, but prefer small mammals (such as voles and squirrels), as well as birds and their eggs. They do not disdain reptiles, frogs, snails, insects and carrion. In autumn, part of their food may include fruits, berries and nuts. The pine marten kills prey with a bite to the back of the head. In late summer and autumn, she accumulates and stores food reserves for the cold season.

Mating in pine martens takes place in mid-summer, but pregnancy, due to the preservation of the seed in the female’s body, begins much later and the offspring are born only in April. Their development is similar to that of stone marten cubs. At birth, their length is 10 cm. The litter most often contains three cubs. For the first eight weeks they remain in the parent's nest, and after that they begin to climb around it and explore the area. After sixteen weeks they finally become independent, but sometimes still accompany their mother until next spring. In the second year of life, pine martens reach sexual maturity, although they usually mate for the first time in the third year of life. Life expectancy in captivity is up to sixteen years, but in the wild only a few pine martens grow older than ten years.

Nilgiri marten

Nilgiri Marten

(Martes gwatkinsii)

The only species of marten found in South India. Lives in the highlands of the Nilgiria and Western Ghats.

This is a fairly large marten, ranging from 55 to 70 cm in length. The tail length is from 40 to 45 cm, and the weight is from 2 to 2.5 kg.

The Nilgiri marten is a carnivorous predator that preys on small birds, rodents (Indian squirrels, white-footed mice), insects (cycads), reptiles (lizards, Bengal monitor lizards) and small mammals (Asian deer).

Presumably leads a diurnal lifestyle, because all discovered animals were observed between 10 and 14:30 in the afternoon. Spends most of its time in trees, but hunts on the ground. Makes nests in crowns and hollows tall trees(up to 16 m), close to water (60-90 cm). Avoids human presence.

Japanese marten

Japanese Martin

(Martes melampus)

Japanese martens originally lived on the three main southern Japanese islands (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu), Tsushima, and also in Korea. To obtain furs, they were also brought to the islands of Hokkaido and Sado. Its natural habitat is mainly forests, but they are sometimes found in more open areas.

The body length of these animals reaches from 47 to 54 cm, and the tail length from 17 to 23 cm. Males are significantly heavier than females and weigh on average 1.6 kg, while females only about 1.0 kg.

Little is known about the lifestyle of Japanese martens. They build nests in earthen burrows and also in trees. There they hide during the day and come out at night in search of food. These are territorial animals that mark their territory with the secretion of scent glands. Except for the mating period, they live alone. Like most martens, they are omnivores, feeding on small mammals and other vertebrates such as birds and frogs, as well as crustaceans, insects, berries and seeds.

Mating begins in March-May; in July-August the female brings from 1 to 5 cubs. After 4 months they become independent.

Sable

Sable

(Martes zibellina)

Currently, sable is found throughout the taiga part of Russia from the Urals to the Pacific coast north to the limits of forest vegetation. Prefers dark coniferous, cluttered taiga, especially loves cedar trees. It is also found in Japan, on the island of Hokkaido.

The body length of the sable is up to 56 cm, the tail is up to 20 cm. The weight of males is 1,100-1,800 g, females - 900-1,500 g.

A typical inhabitant of the Siberian taiga. Agile and very strong predator for its size. Leads a terrestrial lifestyle. Moves by jumping. The tracks are paired large prints measuring from 5x7 to 6x10 cm. The length of the jump is 30-70 cm. It climbs trees well, but does not “ride.” Has well-developed hearing and sense of smell, but vision is weaker. The voice is a purr, like a cat's. Walks easily on loose snow. It is most active in the morning and evening. As a rule, it lives in cedar trees, in the upper reaches of mountain rivers, close to the ground - in thickets of dwarf trees, among stone placers, and occasionally rises into the crowns of trees.

The diet is dominated by mouse-like rodents, mainly the red-backed vole (red-gray in the south). To the east of the Yenisei and in the Sayan Mountains, the pika plays an important role in nutrition. Often eats squirrels and attacks hares. Exterminating several million squirrels in the region every year, the sable steadily restrains the growth of its population. Of the birds, the sable most often attacks hazel grouse and wood grouse, but in general birds are a secondary food source. Willingly eats plant foods. Favorite food: pine nuts, rowan berries, blueberries. Eats lingonberries, blueberries, bird cherry, rose hips, currants.

The sable is active at dusk, at night, but often hunts during the day. An individual sable hunting area ranges from 150-200 hectares to 1500-2000 hectares, sometimes more.

Nesting shelters are in hollows of fallen and standing trees, in stone deposits, under roots. Pupping in the north in the first half of May, in the south in April. The animals reach sexual maturity at the age of two to three years and reproduce until they are 13-15 years old. Mating in June - July, pregnancy 250-290 days. There are from one to seven puppies in a litter, usually 3-4. Molting ends in mid-October.

Ilka

Fisher

(Martes pennanti)

It lives in the forests of North America, from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California to the Appalachians in West Virginia, preferring to stay in coniferous forests with an abundance of hollow trees. Typical trees that silt takes up residence include spruce, fir, cedar, and some deciduous trees. In winter, they often settle in burrows, sometimes digging them in the snow. Ilkas quickly climb trees, but usually move on the ground. Active around the clock. They lead a solitary lifestyle.

Ilka is one of the largest martens: the length of her body with tail is up to 75-120 cm; weight 2-5 kg.

Favorite prey includes arboreal porcupines, as well as mice, squirrels, snowshoe hares, birds and shrews. They eat berries and fruits, such as apples. Contrary to its name, the ilka rarely feeds on fish. Fisherman is a carbon copy of the English fisher, which presumably comes from the French fichet, ferret. Ilka and American sable (Martes americana) are the only small predators that can easily pursue prey both in trees and in burrows.

The mating period is at the end of winter - beginning of spring. Pregnancy lasts 11-12 months, of which 10 the embryo does not develop. There are up to 5 blind and almost naked cubs in the litter. They become independent in the 5th month. Shortly after giving birth, females mate and become pregnant again. Life expectancy is up to 10 years.

Dressing

Marbled Polecat

(Vormela peregusna)

Dressings are common in Eastern Europe and Asia. Their range extends from the Balkan Peninsula and Western Asia (with the exception of the Arabian Peninsula) through southern Russia and Central Asia to northwestern China and Mongolia. Banded moths inhabit dry areas where there are no trees, such as steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Sometimes they are also found on grassy foothill plateaus. Occasionally, these animals were observed in the mountains, where their distribution was proven to an altitude of 3000 m. Nowadays, many bandages live in parks, vineyards, and even among human settlements.

Body length is from 29 to 38 cm with a tail from 15 to 22 cm. The weight of adult bandages is from 370 to 730 g.

The lifestyle of the bandaged ferret is similar to that of the steppe ferret. They are active mainly at dusk or at night, and occasionally go hunting in the daytime. As a rule, they spend the day in their own hole, which they either dug themselves or adopted from other animals. Outside the mating season, the bandages live alone. Their ranges may overlap, but fights between these animals almost never happen, as they try to avoid each other. In case of danger, the bandage raises the hairs of its fur on end and directs its fluffy tail forward, the warning coloring of which should, like that of skunks, scare away the enemy. If this does not help, the bandage from your anal gland can spray an extremely unpleasant-smelling secretion into the air.

Bandages hunt both on the ground, where they sometimes stand on their hind legs to have best review terrain, and on trees that they know how to climb. Most often, however, she hunts in the underground passages of various rodents, in which she sometimes even settles. Its food includes mainly gerbils, voles, ground squirrels, hamsters, as well as birds, various small vertebrates and insects.

The duration of pregnancy for dressings is up to eleven months, which is due to the fact that the fertilized egg first “rests” and does not immediately begin to develop. At one time, the female gives birth to one to eight (on average four or five) cubs. They are very small and blind, but they grow quickly and after a month they wean themselves off milk. Females reach sexual maturity at the age of three months; in males it appears at the age of one year. Little is known about the lifespan of bandages, but in captivity they live for almost nine years.

European mink

European Mink

(Mustela lutreola)

Distributed in Europe (Russia, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, Southwestern France, Karelia, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Caucasus).

Body length is 28-40 cm, tail - 12-20 cm. Body weight is 550-800 g.

Settles along the banks of streams, rivers and lakes. It rarely moves further than 200 m from the shores of a reservoir. Favorite habitats are overgrown bushes and forests, washed-out banks of rivers and streams, oxbow lakes and small lakes. Avoids open reaches with sandy shores. In the steppes, it settles in floodplains and among reed thickets on large rivers.

The basis of the diet is small fish (minnows, loaches, sculpin, small burbot), which they deftly pursue under water. It also hunts water rats, mouse-like rodents, mollusks, crayfish, snakes, frogs and birds.

The European mink is active all year round. It makes a shelter under overhanging, washed-out river banks, in roots or in piles of windfall. Sometimes she digs holes herself or expands abandoned holes of muskrats or water rats (usually the entrance to the hole is located under water). Hunts at night, but is sometimes found during daylight hours. Spends most of its time on the shore, wandering between the roots and under the overhanging bank. When pursued, it can swim underwater up to 10-20 m, then swims to the surface for air and quickly dives again.

An adult animal needs up to 180 g of food per day. If food is abundant, then the mink can stock up.

In warm months it lives on a permanent site, which occupies 15-20 hectares. In winter, it often moves in search of food along river banks. The male's area partially overlaps the areas of several females. The male does not participate in raising the young.

During the breeding season, males first look for females whose territories are nearby, and later move to longer distances. Often several males chase after one female. The most aggressive and powerful males get the right to mate.

Pregnancy lasts 42-46 days. The female gives birth to 4-7 blind and hairless puppies. Lactation lasts up to 10 weeks. At this time, young people begin to go hunting with their mother. At 12 weeks of age, young minks become completely independent. The family group stays together until autumn, and later the puppies scatter in search of their own areas.

American mink

American Mink

(Mustela vison)

Distributed throughout most of North America.

Body length - up to 50 cm, weight - up to 2 kg, tail length - up to 25 cm.

Inhabits areas with open water (lakes, rivers, shallow streams and swamps). Often settles near human habitation. Prefers rivers where many wormwoods form in winter.

The American mink is a nocturnal animal. Its hunting grounds lie along the coastline. In summer, animals do not move further than 50-80 m from the hole. During the breeding season, males become more mobile and can travel distances of up to 30 km. Shelters are built near water. Uses muskrat burrows (a burrow with several chambers and winding passages, up to 3 m long). The nesting chamber is lined with dry grass, leaves or moss. The American mink makes a latrine right in the hole, in one of the holes, or not far from the entrance to the hole. In winter, during severe frosts, it closes the entrance hole to the hole from the inside. The American mink swims well, using all four paws. It climbs well and moves quickly on the ground. Hunts on land and in water (depending on the time of year and habitat).

Vision is weak, so when hunting the animal relies only on its sense of smell. The prey size of males is larger than that of females. If the prey is too large, then the mink takes its remains to the lair to eat them later.

IN hibernation does not fall, but in winter (in severe cold) it can sleep in the den for several days in a row. When threatened, it uses the smelly secretion from its anal glands.

It feeds on small vertebrates (frogs, lobsters, snakes, birds, rabbits, mice, muskrats and other rodents), fish, aquatic invertebrates and insects.

The American mink is a solitary and territorial animal. The territorial ranges of males are larger than those of females. All individuals mark their territory with droppings mixed with the smell of secretions from the anal glands. Minks also rub their throats against sticks and rocks, where the throat glands are located.

It is a polygamous animal: during the breeding season, a male may mate with several females. A female can also mate with multiple males. For childbirth, the female American mink chooses a hole up to 3 m deep. Usually the den is located no further than 200 m from the water.

The breeding season lasts from February to March. Pregnancy is about 50 days. The female gives birth to 1-10 (on average 4) blind and almost hairless puppies. Newborns weigh about 6 grams. By 5-6 weeks, puppies acquire red-brown fur. The eyes open by day 37, and lactation lasts up to 8-9 weeks. At this age, young minks weigh about 350 grams. By the end of summer, the young people become completely independent and leave their mother.

Columns

Siberian Weasel

(Mustela sibirica)

The kolonka is primarily a native of Asia. It is distributed along the slopes of the Himalayas, in a large part of China, in Japan, on the Korean Peninsula, the south of the Far East, in Southern and Central Siberia up to the Urals. In such a vast expanse, the weasel, of course, lives in a variety of conditions, but everywhere it prefers forests - dark coniferous or, conversely, deciduous, teeming with small rodents, but mainly near rivers and lakes. The Siberian weasel is often found in populated areas, where it catches rats and mice, and at the same time attacks poultry.

Length from the end of the snout to the base of the tail is 28-30, tail length is 16.5 cm.

The feeding column resembles that of ferrets. It feeds on rodents (zokors, muskrats, chipmunks, squirrels, jerboas), pikas, as well as birds, their eggs, frogs, insects, carrion, and occasionally catches hares. With a lack of rodents, the kolinsky fish begins to fish.

The Siberian weasel hunts at night or at dusk, and during the day it hides in a shelter (under the roots of fallen trees, in a windfall or stones). Brave, curious and agile - he easily penetrates narrow holes and crevices where small animals live. It climbs trees and rocks well and swims well. In winter, it spends most of its time under the snow. Active throughout the year, in severe frosts it rests in burrows. There are no individual areas, it wanders through the taiga in search of prey. It can cover up to 8 km during the night. Moves in big leaps.

Estrus begins in February - March. The male pursues only one female. For childbirth, the female makes a nest (in chipmunk burrows, under tree roots and dead wood, in stones and rock crevices), where she drags wool, feathers, leaves and dry grass. Puppies are born in April - June. The male does not take any part in raising the young. In case of attack, the female fiercely and boldly defends her offspring.

Pregnancy lasts 28-42 days. The female gives birth to 4-10 puppies. The cubs are born blind and naked. The eyes open after a month. Lactation lasts up to 56 days, and then the mother begins to feed the cubs with small animals.

Long-tailed weasel

Long-tailed Weasel

(Mustela frenata)

Distributed from the Canada-US border through Central America to the northern regions of South America.

The body length of males is up to 40 cm, females up to 35 cm, the tail in males is up to 15.2 cm, in females up to 12.7 cm. Body weight of males is up to 450 g, females - up to 255 g.

The long-tailed weasel is found in almost all land areas located near water. Prefers to stay in thickets of thorny bushes and thickets of honeysuckle, wooded areas, forests and grassy thickets along fences.

The long-tailed weasel is nocturnal, but in the habitats of voles (which are diurnal) it goes hunting during the day. During the night the animal travels up to 5 km. The size of an individual plot depends on the amount of prey (the minimum plot is 0.7-1 ha, and if there is a shortage of food, the plot increases to 20-160 ha).

Weasel is a fearless and curious animal. When defending against enemies or during mating, it emits an unpleasant-smelling secretion from the anal glands. Small prey is killed with several quick bites to the back of the neck. When attacking large prey, the animal grabs and holds onto it with its front and hind paws. During the fight, the weasel tries to move onto its back to perform a series of bites at the base of the skull to immobilize and kill the victim. Prey found in burrows is attacked head-on and killed with a bite to the windpipe. Eats the victim starting from the head. When there is an excess of production, it makes reserves, but returns to them quite rarely.

The smell of blood makes her especially aggressive and bloodthirsty. The weasel is very mobile and has a very high level metabolism. It skips along the ground with the back arched in the form of an arch, and at this time the tail is held straight (horizontally above the ground). The long-tailed weasel swims well and deftly climbs trees (sometimes climbing to a height of 6 m and above).

It eats only animal food (mice, rats, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, shrews, moles and rabbits), as well as eggs, chicks and adult birds, snakes, frogs and insects. Living near a person, he carries chickens.

Leads a solitary and territorial lifestyle. Pairs form only during the breeding season. At this time, males mark their territory by riding on the back of their bodies. The female gives birth to one litter per year. In the south of the range, there can be 2 or 3 litters. For childbirth, the female makes a den, which is located in piles of stones, a pile of brushwood, burrows of mice, gophers, chipmunks and voles. The depth of such a hole is 15-43 cm. The nest is lined with the fur of eaten animals or dry grass.

Pregnancy with delayed embryo development can range from 205 to 337 days. The true pregnancy period is 27-35 days. The female gives birth to 1-9 blind, helpless puppies. Newborns weigh about 3 g. The cubs have wrinkled skin covered with thin white fur. The eyes open at 35 days of age, and lactation stops at this time. At 6-7 weeks of age, puppies begin to hunt with their mother. At 11-12 weeks they leave the den and begin to lead an independent life.

Solonga

Mountain Weasel

(Mustela altaica)

It is found from the central regions of Russia and across the entire country to the northern borders, to the southeast to Korea, to the west to Northern India.

The length of males ranges from 21 to 28 cm with a 10-15 cm tail. Their weight is from 250 to 370 g. Females are slightly smaller, from 21 to 26 cm in length, with a tail of 9-12.5 cm. The weight of females is from 120 to 245 g.

Lives at mountainous heights above 1000 meters above sea level and also in rocky tundra with young forests. It settles in cracks between rocks in tree trunks or in abandoned burrows. The mountain weasel is not afraid to live near human settlements.

Its diet includes small and medium-sized rodents (muskrat, gophers, rabbits, large-eared pika, gray hamsters, field mice, etc.), insectivores, and birds. Can eat frogs, lizards, snakes, insects and shellfish. Settling in human dwellings, it steals meat products and fish, and destroys chicken coops.

Solongoi is a very agile animal, lives on the ground, prowls in windfalls, under roots and in rock slides. In these same places it makes nests and breeds offspring. Active both at night and during the day. He runs quickly and climbs trees, and can swim. For communication, especially between males, the secretion of the anal glands is used. When threatened, the animal makes a loud chirping sound and emits a pungent odor from its anal glands. The daily food requirement is 45-54 g (3-4 small rodents) for an adult male, however, it usually kills significantly more prey than necessary.

Leads a solitary and territorial lifestyle.

During the mating season, there is competition between males for females. Sometimes quite brutal fights arise between them. After mating, the male leaves the female. Puppies are born in a nest lined with grass and the fur of eaten rodents.

Pregnancy lasts 30-49 days. The female gives birth to 1-8 blind and hairless young. Lactation lasts up to two months. From this moment on, young solongoi become independent, but remain with their mother for some time.

Ermine

Stoat

(Mustela erminea)

The ermine is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere - in the Arctic, subarctic and temperate zones of Eurasia and North America. In Europe, it is found from Scandinavia to the Pyrenees and the Alps, with the exception of Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. In Asia, its range extends to the deserts of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Northeast China and northern Japan. IN North America found in Canada, on the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in Greenland and in the northern USA (except the Great Plains).

The body length of the male is 17-38 cm (females are about half as long), the length of the tail is about 35% of the body length - 6-12 cm; body weight - from 70 to 260 g.

Ermine is most numerous in forest-steppe, taiga and tundra regions. Their choice of habitat is determined by the abundance of their main food - small rodents. As a rule, the ermine prefers to settle close to water: along the banks and floodplains of rivers and streams, near forest lakes, along coastal meadows, thickets of bushes and reeds. It rarely goes into the depths of forests; in forests there are old overgrown burnt areas and clearings, edges (especially near villages and arable lands); in dense forests it loves brook spruce and alder forests. Common in copses, steppe ravines and ravines. Avoids open spaces. Sometimes it settles near human habitation, in fields, gardens and forest parks, even on the outskirts of cities.

Leads a predominantly solitary, territorial lifestyle. The boundaries of the individual area are marked by the secretion of the anal glands. Plot sizes vary from 10 to 20 hectares; in males it is usually twice as large as in females, and overlaps with their areas. Males and females live separately and meet only during the mating season. In hungry and food-poor years, stoats leave their areas and move, sometimes over considerable distances. Sometimes migrations are also caused by mass reproduction of rodents in neighboring areas.

The ermine is active mainly in the twilight and night hours, sometimes found during the day. It is unpretentious in the choice of shelters, including brood ones. It can be found in the most unexpected places - for example, in haystacks, piles of stones, in the ruins of abandoned buildings or in logs piled against the wall of a residential building. It also occupies tree hollows and often hides in them during floods. The ermine often occupies the burrows and nesting chambers of the rodents it kills. The female lines her brood hole with the skins and hair of killed rodents, and less often with dry grass. The ermine does not dig holes on its own. In winter, it does not have permanent shelters and uses random shelters - under stones, tree roots, logs. It rarely returns to its roosting site.

The stoat is a good swimmer and climber, but is essentially a specialized terrestrial predator. Its diet is dominated by mouse-like rodents, but unlike its relative - the weasel, which feeds on small voles, the ermine hunts larger rodents - water voles, hamsters, chipmunks, haymakers, lemmings, etc., overtaking them in burrows and under the snow. Its size does not allow it to penetrate into the burrows of smaller rodents. Females hunt in burrows more often than males. Birds and their eggs, as well as fish and shrews, are of secondary importance in the stoat's diet. Even less often (with a lack of basic food) the ermine eats amphibians, lizards and insects. Capable of attacking animals larger than itself (grouse grouse, hazel grouse, ptarmigan, hares and rabbits); in hungry years, it even eats garbage or steals people's supplies of meat and fish. When there is an abundance of food, the stoat builds up supplies, destroying more rodents than it can eat. It kills prey like a weasel - by biting through the skull in the occipital region. The ermine tracks rodents by smell, insects by sound, and fish by sight.

The ermine is a very agile and dexterous animal. His movements are fast, but somewhat fussy. When hunting, he travels up to 15 km per day, in winter - an average of 3 km. It moves through the snow in jumps up to 50 cm long, pushing off the ground with both hind legs. He swims well and easily climbs trees. Pursued by the enemy, it often sits in a tree until the danger has passed. Usually silent, but when excited it chirps loudly, can chirp, hiss and even bark.

The ermine is polygamous, breeding once a year. Sexual activity in males lasts 4 months, from mid-February to early June. Pregnancy in females with a long latent stage (8-9 months) - embryos do not develop until March. In total, it lasts 9-10 months, so the cubs appear in April - May of the next year. The number of cubs in litters ranges from 3 to 18, with an average of 4-9. Only the female is engaged in them.

Newborns weigh 3-4 g with a body length of 32-51 mm, are born blind, toothless, with closed ear canals and covered with sparse white hair. At 30-41 days they begin to see clearly, and at 2-3 months they are indistinguishable in size from adults. At the end of June - in July they already obtain food on their own.

Females reach sexual maturity very early, at 2-3 months, and males only at the age of 11-14 months. Young females (60-70 days old) can be productively mated by adult males - a unique case among mammals that contributes to the survival of the species. The average lifespan of an ermine is 1-2 years, the maximum is 7 years. The fertility and numbers of stoats fluctuate greatly, rising sharply in years of abundance of rodents and falling catastrophically when they become extinct.

Japanese weasel

Japanese Weasel

(Mustela itatsi)

Distributed in Japan, where it is found on the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. It was also introduced to the islands of Hokkaido, Ryukyu and Sakhalin to control the number of rodents.

Body length is about 35 cm, tail length is 17 cm.

Yellow-bellied weasel

Yellow-bellied Weasel

(Mustela kathiah)

Distributed from Northern Pakistan to Southeast China.

Body length 21.5-29 cm, tail - 12.5-19 cm. Weight about 1.56 kg.

It lives in subtropical forests, rising to 1800-4000 m above sea level. Prefers pine forests. The yellow-bellied weasel primarily feeds on rodents (rats and field mice), small mammals and birds.

Leads a solitary and territorial lifestyle.

The female builds a den in holes, voids in the ground, under rocks or logs. The den itself is lined with dry grass. Soon after birth, another rut is observed, ending with mating. Pregnancy lasts up to 10 months (most of the period occurs during the latent period in egg development). The female gives birth to 3-18 blind and helpless puppies.

Lesser weasel

Least Weasel

(Mustela nivalis)

Distributed in Europe, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Asia Minor, northern Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, North America, Australia.

The length of the animal varies, depending on whether it belongs to a particular subspecies, from 11.4 to 21.6 cm. Weight is 40-100 g.

Inhabits various biotopes (forests, steppes and forest-steppes, field margins, swamps, banks of reservoirs, deserts, tundra, alpine meadows).

Almost the entire diet of weasels consists of small mouse-like rodents (house mice, field and forest mice, rats), moles and shrews, as well as young rabbits, chickens, pigeons, eggs and chicks of birds. When there is a shortage of food, it eats amphibians, small fish, lizards, small snakes, insects and crayfish.

Weasel is a dexterous and agile animal, runs fast, climbs and swims well. It is distinguished by its courage and bloodthirstiness, capable of crawling through the narrowest cracks and holes. The mice are chased into their own holes. It grabs small animals by the back of the head or head, biting through the skull in the back of the head, and often attacks animals much larger than itself, grabbing their neck. The weasel makes several holes in bird eggs and sucks out the contents. Often stores reserves (from 1 to 30 voles and mice are found in one place).

It is active at different times of the day, but most often hunts at dusk and at night. Moves by jumping. Leads a (mostly) earthly lifestyle. When walking around its area, it stays close to bushes and other cover. Avoids open places. It can cover 1-2 km per day. In winter, when there is deep snow, it moves in its voids.

It does not dig holes, but uses rodent holes or voids between stones, wood piles, low-lying (up to 2 m) tree hollows, tree roots and dead wood, and rock crevices. He drags dry grass, moss and leaves into the den. There are usually several permanent dwellings built on the site.

Leads a solitary and territorial lifestyle. The size of an individual plot is small - up to 10 hectares. These sizes depend on the abundance of prey and weather. Often the male's site overlaps the female's. The boundaries of the area are marked with scent marks.

Polygamous; during the rutting season, a male can mate with several females. For childbirth, the female lines the nest with dry grass, moss and leaves. If the nest is disturbed, the mother moves the cubs to another place. In case of extreme danger, the weasel defends its nest to the last. Broods stay together for 3-4 months and break up at the end of summer or autumn.

Mating occurs in March. After a five-week pregnancy, the female gives birth to 5 to 7, less often 3 and 8 cubs. The eyes open on days 21-25 of life. When the puppies begin to leave the nest, they follow their mother everywhere, exploring the immediate surroundings, and then move further and further from their native nest. Gradually, the instinct to follow weakens, and young animals begin to travel on their own.

White-striped weasel

Back-stripped Weasel

(Mustela strigidorsa)

Distributed in Asia - from Nepal east to China (Yunan Province), Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, Sikkim, India, Vietnam, Assam.

The length of the head and body of the female is about 28.5 cm, the length of the tail is 15.2 cm.

Inhabits a variety of forests located at an altitude of 1000-2500 m above sea level.

The white-striped weasel is one of the most mysterious and little-studied mammals of northeast Asia. Over the years of its study, only eight individuals fell into the hands of scientists: three from Sikkim, and one each from Nepal, Laos, Mynmar, Fenesserim and Thailand. Although information from local residents about encounters with this animal is gradually accumulating.

Colombian weasel

Colombian Weasel

(Mustela felipei)

Known from 5 animals found in the Andes of Northern Ecuador and the highlands of the Cordillera of Central and Western Colombia. Inhabits mountain forests along the banks and near rivers and streams with a calm current. The climate in their habitat is subtropical.

The body length is about 22 cm. The weight of the only weighed Colombian weasel was 138 g.

The Colombian weasel is a terrestrial carnivore. There is little information about diet. Every day, this weasel needs to eat prey (small mammals, birds and insects, possibly fish), which makes up about 40% of its weight.

Malayan weasel

Malaysian Weasel

(Mustela nudipes)

Distributed in Thailand, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo), Malacca Peninsula, Malaysia, Brunei. It is not available on the island of Java. It lives at altitudes from 400 to 1700 m above sea level.

The body length of this animal is 30-36 cm, the tail length is 24-26 cm. The general body color is reddish-brown, the head is noticeably lighter.

Steppe ferret

Steppe Polecat

(Mustela eversmanni)

The steppe ferret is found in the west from Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic, and further to the east along the forest-steppe, steppes and semi-deserts of Russia from Transbaikalia to the Middle Amur, as well as in Central and Central Asia to the Far East and Eastern China. In the last century, the range of the steppe ferret has noticeably expanded to the west and partly to the north. Avoids forests and populated areas.

Body length 52-56 cm, tail - up to 18 cm, body weight up to 2 kg.

Hunts for gophers, hamsters, pikas, mouse-like rodents, less often birds, snakes and frogs, and in the summer for invertebrates. Ferrets living near rivers and lakes also hunt water voles.

Leads a nocturnal and twilight lifestyle, sometimes active during the day. It makes permanent nests on dry hills, occupying the burrows of other rodents (marmots, gophers, hamsters), slightly expanding and furnishing them. It digs holes only when absolutely necessary and uses them as temporary ones. In the fields, it makes its home in thickets of tall grass, near rocks, in ruins, between roots and in tree hollows.

It moves on the ground in jumps (up to 50-70 cm), and practically does not climb trees. Swims well and can dive. Vision is well developed. Easily jumps off high altitude. In times of danger, it defends itself with a stinking and caustic secretion from the anal glands, shooting it at the enemy. In winter, it often chases rodents under the snow.

Outside the breeding season, the steppe ferret leads a solitary lifestyle. The boundaries of the individual plot are practically not protected. When same-sex individuals meet, aggression does not occur. During mating, males fight each other for the female, while they scream loudly and bite each other. For childbirth, the female builds a nest in a pile of hay or in tree hollows (from grass and other soft material). The nest is lined with feathers, down and dry grass. The male takes part in raising the offspring. If the first litter dies, the female will go into heat over the next 6-26 days.

Pregnancy lasts about 1.5 months. The female gives birth to 4-10 hairless pups. The eyes open on days 28-39. Until the cubs grow hair, the female rarely leaves them. Lactation lasts up to 2.5 months. At the age of 7-8 weeks, puppies are already trying to hunt for rodents on their own. The female actively protects the cubs. The brood stays together for up to 2.5 months, and at the end of summer, young ferrets disperse in search of their territory.

Black-footed ferret

Black-footed Ferret

(Mustela nigripes)

Inhabits the eastern and southern regions of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Texas and Arizona (USA).

Approximately 45 cm in length, with a fluffy 15 cm tail, weighs more than 1 kg.

Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. Hearing, vision and sense of smell are well developed. The species is extremely dependent on prairie dogs. He spends almost all of his time (up to 99%) in their burrows. In the area of ​​these colonies, he rests and sleeps, immediately obtains food for himself, avoids predators, bad weather, and feeds his offspring. Males are more active than females. In winter, the activity of black-footed ferrets decreases, as does the area of ​​the surveyed territory. On cold and snowy days it remains in the hole, feeding on its reserves.

On the ground it moves in leaps or slow gallops (up to 8-11 km/h). In one night it can cover up to 10 km. Males travel a greater distance (almost twice) than females.

Except for the breeding season, it leads a solitary lifestyle. To communicate with relatives, it uses scent marks. The boundaries of its territory are marked with secretions from the anal glands. In favorable years, the population density is one ferret per 50 hectares of prairie dog colonies. The territory of adult ferrets is (in diameter) 1-2 km.

Pregnancy lasts 41-45 days. The female gives birth to 3-4 puppies (on average). As the cubs grow older, the female leaves them alone in the nest during the day while she hunts. Young people begin to hunt on their own in September-October.

Forest ferret

European Polecat

(Mustela putorius)

Widely distributed throughout Western Europe, although its habitat is gradually declining. A fairly large population of ferrets lives in England and almost the entire territory of the European part of Russia, except for North Karelia, northeast of Crimea, the Caucasus, and the Lower Volga region. IN last decades Information has appeared about the spread of the Black Ferret into the forests of Finland and Karelia. Also lives in the forests of northwestern Africa.

They weigh from 1000 g to 1710 g, length 36-48 cm, tail 15-17 cm. Females are one and a half times smaller. The length of the tail of females is 8.5-15 cm.

Forest ferrets most like to settle in small forest areas and individual groves mixed with fields and meadows (they avoid continuous taiga areas). The ferret is called an “edge” predator, since forest edges are its typical hunting ground. Often visible in the floodplains of small rivers, as well as near other bodies of water. Can swim, but not as well as its close relative the European mink (Mustela lutreola). Also settles in city parks.

Ferrets lead a sedentary lifestyle and become attached to a specific habitat. The size of the habitat is small. Natural shelters are most often used as permanent shelters - heaps of dead wood, stacks of firewood, rotten stumps, haystacks. Sometimes ferrets settle in badger or fox holes; in villages and hamlets they find shelter in barns, cellars and even under the roofs of rural bathhouses. The forest ferret almost never digs its own burrows.

Despite its relatively large size compared to many representatives of the genus, this ferret is a typical mouse eater. The black ferret's main diet consists of voles and mice; in the summer it often catches frogs, toads, young water rats, as well as snakes, wild birds, large insects (locusts, etc.), penetrates hare holes and strangles young hares. When it settles near a person, it can attack poultry and rabbits.

Ferrets move very deftly in heaps of dead wood and between stones, they are aggressive and somewhat fearless with enemies, even those exceeding them in size and weight. The forest ferret usually hunts in dark time days, but during the day only severe hunger can force him to leave the shelter. Rodent ferrets lie in wait near burrows or catch them on the run.

The ferret's rut ​​begins in the spring, in April-May, sometimes in the second half of June. One and a half months after fertilization, the female gives birth to 4 to 6 cubs. Females selflessly protect their brood in the face of any danger. Young ferrets have a well-developed special juvenile “mane” - elongated hair on the nape. The brood stays with the mother until autumn, and sometimes until the following spring. The animals become sexually mature at one year of age.

The genus (Mustela) also includes:
Sea mink (Mustela macrodon) † - inhabited the sea line of Maine and possibly Northeastern Canada. She lived among the coastal cliffs and on islands, and this may have been the reason for her name. Science knows the sea mink only from information from fur hunters and from incomplete skeletons found in the garbage heaps of Indian tribes;
Indonesian mountain mink (Mustela lutreolina) - lives on the islands of Java and Sumatra, Indonesia in mountain altitudes of more than 1,000 meters and in equatorial forests. One of the most unstudied representatives of the family;
Amazonian weasel (Mustela africana) - lives in South America, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru. Regardless of Latin name, Mustela africana does not live in Africa;
Egyptian weasel (Mustela subpalmata) - inhabits the Nile Valley in Egypt.

Honey badger

Honey Badger

(Mellivora capensis)

The honey badger's range covers large parts of Africa and Asia. In Africa it is found almost everywhere, from Morocco and Egypt to South Africa. In Asia, its habitat extends from the Arabian Peninsula to Central Asia, as well as to India and Nepal.

The body length reaches up to 77 cm, not counting the tail, which is about 25 cm. Their weight varies from 7 to 13 kg, males are slightly heavier than females.

Honey badgers live in different climatic zones, including in steppes, forests and mountainous areas up to 3000 meters. However, they avoid regions that are too hot or humid, such as deserts or tropical forests.

They are active mainly at dusk or at night, but in unspoiled regions or in cool weather they can be seen during the day. For sleeping, they use self-dug holes from one to three meters deep with a small closet lined with soft material. Within their range, honey badgers have several such burrows, and since they make long trips in a day, they almost never spend the night in the same place for two nights in a row. In search of food, they move on the ground, but sometimes they also climb trees, especially when they want to get to the honey, which gives them their name.

Like most other species of the mustelid family, honey badgers live solitarily, and only occasionally can they be observed in small groups - usually young families or bachelor flocks. They have relatively large habitats, covering several square kilometers. They notify their relatives about their presence using a secretion secreted by special anal glands.

Honey badgers are considered very fearless and even aggressive animals that have almost no natural enemies. Their very thick skin, with the exception of a thin layer on the stomach, cannot be pierced even by the teeth of large predatory cats and poisonous snakes, as well as the quills of porcupines. Honey badgers' strong front legs with long claws and teeth are effective defensive weapons. In addition, they can, like skunks, emit a foul odor if they are attacked. They themselves, if they feel threatened, attack animals whose size significantly exceeds their own, including cows and buffaloes.

Honey badgers are predatory animals. Their prey includes various rodents, as well as juveniles of larger species such as foxes or antelopes. In addition to them, the honey badger's food includes birds and their eggs, reptiles, including small crocodiles and poisonous snakes, as well as amphibians, carrion, insect larvae, scorpions and other invertebrates. Compared to other species of mustelids, honey badgers consume relatively little plant food; they feed on berries, fruits, roots and tubers.

Their love for honey is noteworthy, which gives honey badgers their name. It is widely believed that the honey badger lives in symbiosis with a small African species of woodpecker called the great honey guide (Indicator indicator). The honey guide supposedly lures the honey badger with special calls to bee nests, which the honey badger tears apart with its claws, licking the honey, and the honey guide eats the bee larvae. How true this is is a matter of debate; there is no scientific evidence for it yet.

There are different data on the gestation period of honey badgers, which is probably due to the fluctuating rate of development of the fertilized egg characteristic of mustelids. There are five or six months between mating and birth, but the actual pregnancy is probably shorter. Honey badger litters contain two to four newborns, spending their first weeks in a structure lined with dry plants. The young remain with their mother for quite a long time, often more than a year. The honey badger's lifespan in the wild is unknown, but in captivity it can be up to 26 years.

American badger

American Badger

(Taxidea taxus)

Distributed from Southwestern Canada to Central Mexico.

Body length - 42-74 cm, tail - 10-16 cm. Weight - up to 10-12 kg.

Inhabits arid and semi-desert areas covered with shrubs (open meadows, fields and pastures). It is found in mountain forests and subalpine meadows (up to 3000 m above sea level), as well as in the alpine tundra.

The American badger is primarily nocturnal, but is often seen during the day. He spends daylight hours in a hole that he digs himself. When digging in soft soil, the badger uses its claws and teeth to move towards the obstacle, burying itself in the ground and disappearing from sight within a few minutes. To make a den, it often occupies old fox and coyote holes. It uses its burrows for different purposes, which determines the complexity of the device, its depth and length: for daytime rest, winter sleep, breeding offspring or storing food supplies. Some holes are used as temporary ones, dug in case of an emergency. dangerous situation. A typical lair for a solitary badger is a tunnel about 10 m long with a nesting chamber located at a depth of about 3 m from the ground surface.

It feeds on rodents and other small animals: field mice, chipmunks, ground squirrels, skunks, snakes, eggs and chicks of birds nesting on the ground, insects and their larvae, worms and carrion. The American badger also hunts rattlesnakes, the tender meat of which it clearly likes. If the hunt is successful, they hide the excess food in their lair to eat later. If a badger is cornered, it may attack its enemy. Thick and tough fur, strong neck muscles reliably protect it, in addition, it bites, scratches and secretes from the anal glands bad smell. The badger slowly retreats to the nearest hole, and, having reached the hole, clogs the entrance hole from the inside. If there is no suitable hole nearby, the animal quickly begins to dig one, throwing dirt and earth directly into the attacker's face. The badger is very clean, he always hides his droppings, and often and thoroughly cleans himself, licking his fur. In the north of its range and in the mountains, it goes into winter sleep for several days or weeks. During sleep, body temperature drops and heart rate slows by half. The entrance to the hole during sleep is usually blocked from the inside by the badger. In winter, sometimes a badger leaves its home for a short time, but does not move further than 250 m from the hole.

The American badger is a territorial animal. The male's site is surrounded by the sites of several females. Badgers do not defend the boundaries of their plots, but they desperately guard their burrows from the invasion of strangers. Except for the breeding season and raising offspring, it leads a solitary lifestyle.

Pregnancy lasts up to 6 months. The female gives birth to 1 to 5 badger pups in a nest built deep underground in a complex burrow. Newborns are helpless and blind, covered with sparse fur. The eyes open in the fourth week. Lactation lasts about 6 weeks.

Badger

Eurasian Badger

(Meles meles)

Inhabits almost all of Europe (except for the northern regions of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland and the European part of Russia), the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Crimea, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Southern and Central Siberia, the south of the Far East, Eastern China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan.

Body length - 60-90 cm, tail - 20-24 cm; weight - up to 24 kg, in autumn, before hibernation - up to 34 kg.

Found mainly in mixed and taiga forests, less often in mountain forests; in the south of the range it is found in steppes and semi-deserts. It adheres to dry, well-drained areas, but near (up to 1 km) reservoirs or swampy lowlands, where the food supply is richer.

The badger lives in deep burrows, which it digs along the slopes of sandy hills, forest ravines and gullies. Animals stick to their favorite places from generation to generation; As special geochronological studies have shown, some of the badger towns are several thousand years old. Single individuals use simple burrows, with one entrance and a nesting chamber. Old badger settlements represent a complex multi-tiered underground structure with several (up to 40-50) entrance and ventilation holes and long (5-10 m) tunnels leading to 2-3 extensive nesting chambers lined with dry litter, located at a depth of up to 5 m. Nesting chambers are often located under the protection of an aquifer, which prevents rain and groundwater from seeping into them. Periodically, the holes are cleaned by badgers, and the old bedding is thrown out. Often, badger holes are occupied by other animals: foxes, raccoon dogs.

The badger is nocturnal, although it can often be seen during daylight hours - in the morning before 8, in the evening - after 5-6 hours.

The badger is omnivorous. It feeds on mouse-like rodents, frogs, lizards, birds and their eggs, insects and their larvae, mollusks, earthworms, mushrooms, berries, nuts and grass. When hunting, a badger has to cover large areas, searching through fallen trees, tearing off the bark of trees and stumps in search of worms and insects. Sometimes in one hunt a badger catches 50-70 or more frogs, hundreds of insects and earthworms. However, he eats only 0.5 kg of food per day and only by autumn he eats up heavily and gains fat, which serves as a source of nutrition for him during winter sleep.

This is the only representative of the mustelids that hibernates during the winter. In the northern regions, the badger already hibernates in October - November until March-April; in the southern regions, where winters are mild and short, it is active all year round.

Badgers are monogamous. They form pairs in the fall, but mating and fertilization occur at different times, and therefore the duration of pregnancy, which has a long latent stage, changes. Pregnancy in a female can last from 271 days (during summer mating) to 450 days (during winter). Cubs (2-6) are born: in Europe - in December - April, in Russia - in March - April. A few days later, the females are fertilized again. The cubs begin to see the light at 35-42 days, and at 3 months of age they are already feeding on their own. In the fall, on the eve of hibernation, the broods break up.

Young females become sexually mature in the second year of life, males in the third. The lifespan of a badger is 10-12, in captivity - up to 16 years.

Teledu

Hog Badger

(Arctonyx collaris)

Distributed in Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, o. Sumatra.

Body length up to 70 cm, weight 7-14 kg.

Inhabits forested plains, high mountain forests and hills (teledu rises to 3500 m above sea level), forested areas, tropical forests (jungles), agricultural fields.

It is nocturnal (but in India it can also be seen early in the morning or late in the evening), during the day it hides in a hole it has dug or hides in natural shelters (depressions under stones or boulders, in river beds). Peak activity in China is from 3 to 5 am and from 7 to 9 pm.

When attacked by a predator, it defends itself with its claws and strong teeth. The teledu has thick skin, which protects it well from the teeth of enemies. The coloring also serves as a warning that it is dangerous and is best left alone. Like other mustelids, it has anal glands that secrete a caustic secretion.

There is evidence that from November to February (March) teledus fall into winter sleep.

The diet includes: earthworms, invertebrates, roots, root vegetables and fruits, small mammals. It finds food thanks to its sense of smell, and with the help of molars and incisors of the lower jaw, it digs it out of the ground.

Most likely, he leads a solitary lifestyle, because... most often they are found one at a time. Sometimes there are females that move with their offspring in the den area.

Pregnancy lasts about 10 months. A female teledu gives birth to 2-4 puppies (average 3). Newborns weigh 58 g. Lactation lasts up to 4 months. Puppies reach the size of an adult animal at 7-8 months.

Burmese ferret badger

Burmese Ferret-badger

(Melogale personata)

Distributed in Southeast Asia (Nepal, India, Burma, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Java).

Body length 33-44 cm, tail 15-23 cm. Weight - 1-3 kg.

Little is known about the behavior of the ferret badger. It is nocturnal, but can also be found during twilight hours. The animals spend the day in a hole or other shelter. They do not dig holes themselves, but use abandoned holes of other animals. It is mainly a terrestrial animal, but when hunting insects and snails, it climbs into trees.

To communicate with relatives and for protection, it uses the secretion of the anal glands. When a badger travels through its territory, it marks its path so that it can later find a path and return back to the hole. He uses the same marks to mark the boundaries of his area, warning that it is already occupied.

The diet includes cockroaches, grasshoppers, beetles and earthworms. Along the way, it hunts small mammals (young rats), as well as frogs, toads, small lizards and birds. Eats carrion, bird eggs and plant foods (fruits).

Leads a solitary and territorial lifestyle. The individual territory of a male occupies 4-9 hectares, and overlaps the territories of several females. Pregnancy lasts 57-80 days. The female gives birth to 1-3 puppies. Lactation lasts 2-3 weeks.

Chinese ferret badger

Chinese Ferret-badger

(Melogale moschata)

Inhabits the grasslands and open forests of Northeastern India, Southern China, Taiwan, and Northern Indochina.

Body length - 33-43 cm, tail - 15-23 cm.

Bornean ferret badger

Bornean Ferret-badger

(Melogale everetti)

It lives in the mountains of Kinabalu Park (Malaysia) at an altitude of 1000 to 3000 m above sea level.

Body length 33-44 cm, tail 15-23 cm.

The Javan ferret badger (Melogale orientalis) also belongs to the genus (Melogale).

Otter

Eurasian Otter

(lutra lutra)

It is found over a vast area, covering almost all of Europe (except the Netherlands and Switzerland), Asia (except the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa. In Russia it is absent only in the Far North.

Its body length is 55-95 cm, its tail is 26-55 cm, its weight is 6-10 kg. The paws are short, with webbed swimming. The tail is muscular and not fluffy.

The otter leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle, swimming, diving and getting food in the water. It lives mainly in forest rivers rich in fish, less often in lakes and ponds. Found on the sea coast. It prefers rivers with whirlpools, with rapids that do not freeze in winter, with washed-out banks littered with windbreaks, where there are many reliable shelters and places for making burrows. Sometimes it makes its lairs in caves or, like a nest, in thickets near the water. The entrance holes of its burrows open under water.

The hunting grounds of one otter in summer comprise a section of the river ranging from 2 to 18 km long and about 100 m deep into the coastal zone. In winter, when fish stocks are depleted and wormwood freezes, it is forced to wander, sometimes directly crossing high watersheds. At the same time, the otter descends from the slopes, rolling down on its belly and leaving a characteristic trace in the form of a gutter. On ice and snow it travels up to 15-20 km per day.

The otter feeds mainly on fish (carp, pike, trout, roach, gobies), and prefers small fish. In winter it eats frogs, and quite regularly eats caddisfly larvae. In summer, in addition to fish, it catches water voles and other rodents; In some places it systematically hunts waders and ducks.

Otters are solitary animals. Mating, depending on climatic conditions, occurs in the spring (March - April) or almost all year round (in England). Otters mate in the water. Pregnancy - with a latent period reaching up to 270 days; The gestation period itself is only 63 days. There are usually 2-4 blind cubs in a litter. Otters reach sexual maturity in their second or third year.

Spotted-necked otter

Spot-necked Otter

(Lutra maculicollis)

It is found in Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika, as well as in wetlands located south of the Sahara Desert. The otter settles near permanent water sources or water sources that dry up during drought. Preference is given to calm water and rocky shores, found in lakes, swamps, rivers, as well as in mountain streams on high altitudes. Does not enter rivers with strong currents or small lakes with shallows.

Body length up to 57.5 cm, tail 33-44.5 cm in length. The weight of males is 4-5 kg, females 3.5-4 kg.

Active at any time of the day. Its greatest activity begins 2-3 hours before sunset or after sunrise. He sleeps in his burrow, which he makes in close proximity to water. The spotted-necked otter is one of the most skilled swimmers of all freshwater otters. The animals are playful and spend a lot of time playing with other otters, but they can also play alone. It prefers shallow waters rather than deep waters, since this is where the main prey - cichlids - abound. Fishing is carried out no further than 10 m from the shore. Sharp claws are indispensable when catching fish, which they eat from the tail, sometimes throwing off their heads. Observations have shown that an otter usually catches fish within 10-20 minutes.

Common food includes fish (barbs, clarias, haplochromis, largemouth bass, brown trout and tilapia), frogs, crabs, shellfish, aquatic insects and their larvae.

Leads a solitary lifestyle, except when the female gives birth to cubs. Such family groups (3-4 individuals) can only be seen during the period of raising offspring. The male has a large territory within which several females can live. Each otter secures a territory of up to 3.5 km of coastline. They do not strongly defend their territory, allowing other otters to hunt within its boundaries.

Pregnancy lasts 60-65 days. The female gives birth to 2-3 puppies. Cubs are born with a delicate fur coat. They begin swimming in the eighth week. Lactation lasts up to 12-16 weeks. Young otters play a lot, which helps them master hunting skills. As they grow older, young otters disperse and lead an independent life.

Sumatran otter

Hairy-nosed Otter

(Lutra sumatrana)

Distributed in Asia (Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia). For a long time the species was considered extinct, until a population was discovered in Thailand in 1998.

Body length - 50-82 cm, tail - 35-50 cm.

Inhabits forests with swampy peatlands, reed and reed thickets, canals, coastal shallows and mangrove forests, meadows with mature forest.

Almost nothing is known about the lifestyle and reproduction of this otter.

The genus (Lutra) also includes the Japanese otter (Lutra nippon), an extinct or critically endangered species.

Smooth-coated otter

Smooth-coated Otter

(Lutrogale perspicillata)

Distributed in Iraq, South and Southeast Asia, Southern China.

Body length with head 65.5-79 cm, tail - 40.6-50.5 cm. Weight - 7-11 kg.

Lives in a variety of habitats - large rivers and lakes, peat swamp forests, mangrove forests along the coast and estuaries, rice fields, rocky areas (along large rivers). Avoids open clay and sandy shores.

The smooth-coated otter is an unusually social animal. Males and females live and raise young together. Presumably the female is dominant over all animals in the group.

The feeding territory of such a group covers an area of ​​7-12 km 2 and includes one or more burrows with at least one entrance below the water level. The boundaries of territories are marked by piles of droppings and the musky secretion of the anal glands located at the base of the tail. Otters use scent to determine boundaries and as a means of communication: they mark vegetation, flat rocks or shorelines of their territory.

Giant otter

Giant Otter

(Pteronura brasiliensis)

Lives in the tropical forests of the Amazon basin. The river systems in which the giant otter is found also include the Orinoco and La Plata rivers.

Body length up to two meters (of which about 70 cm is the tail) and body weight over 20 kg.

The giant otter is active during the day and is not very timid. In the water it hunts for fish and aquatic birds; on land it does not disdain mice and bird eggs. Hunting is organized in groups, that is, members of one such hunting group drive fish towards each other.

The dwelling is a hole, the entrance to which leads from under the water; a public toilet is always located nearby. Production in clear water looks with its eyes, and at the bottom and in muddy water - with the help of sensitive whiskers. At the age of 2-3 years, young otters leave the family group in search of their own territory. During their journey, they do not join already formed groups, except in cases where it is possible to replace one of the members of the dominant pair. If the otter fails to find its territory and start a family, it returns to its parents.

The giant otter is a very social animal that lives in family groups (4-8, sometimes up to 20 individuals), where the primacy belongs to the female - she takes the initiative in choosing the time and place for hunting and rest. The dominant male drives other people's otters away from the family area, and all family members participate in the fight with border violators. Several animals regularly patrol the territory's boundaries. The group consists of a breeding pair, one or more adult pups and young animals. Usually the number of males and females is the same. The breeding pair is devoted to each other: they sleep together in the same burrow and stay close while hunting. The size of the family hunting area depends on the season (12-23 km along the bay or 20 km along the lake). The boundaries of the site are marked by the smell of the anal glands and excrement. All members of the group maintain close connections with each other: they care for each other’s fur, play, sleep and hunt together, and also take care of the offspring, replacing each other on duty in the burrow.

There is no specific breeding season. Pregnancy lasts 65-70 days. The female in the burrow gives birth to 3-5 puppies weighing up to 200 grams. At birth, the cubs already have cream spots. The fur is light brown, darkening as it matures. At the fourth week their eyes open, at two months they learn to swim and try to eat fish. Lactation lasts up to 5 months.

Canadian otter

North American River Otter

(Lontra canadensis)

Found in North America from Alaska and Canada almost everywhere in the United States, with the exception of the arid regions of Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California south to Mexico.

Body length 90-120 cm, tail 32-46 cm. Weight - up to 14 kg.

Usually settles within a hundred meters from a water source, but is unpretentious to any climate and terrain.

Eats aquatic animals, mainly amphibians, fish, lobsters, crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates. There are cases of attacks on aquatic birds and small mammals. If there is no other food, otters eat berries (especially blueberries) and fruits. About 80% of the river otter's total diet consists of aquatic organisms.

The Canadian river otter has a semi-aquatic lifestyle. The front legs are shorter than the hind legs, which allows otters to swim well. When animals swim slowly, they row with all four paws. During fast swimming or diving, the otter presses its short front legs to the sides of its body, and begins to work with its strong hind legs and tail, causing wave-like movements. It can make sharp turns with its muscular tail, although the paws and neck play a major role in controlling and regulating movements. The Canadian otter can dive to depths of up to 18 m.

Otter eyes are adapted for hunting underwater. In turbid waters, when visibility is poor, otters hunt thanks to sensitive whiskers that sense the vibration of the water produced by potential prey.

Otters are very efficient predators. They grab their prey with their jaws, not their paws. The animals are playful, love to slide on mud or snow, and you can often find a group of otters playing.

Warm fur keeps the body warm and dry even in cool winter waters. A special fatty lubricant gives it water-repellent properties. But in order for the fur to retain its properties, it requires careful care, for which the otter spends a certain amount of time. When searching for new habitats, the otter moves along rivers or streams instead of traveling on land. And only in the spring, young otters, in search of their own territory, also travel overland.

Found alone or in pairs, but sometimes otters stay in small groups. Typically, such groups are a family consisting of a mother and her offspring.

The hunting grounds of river otters are large and usually include several kilometers (sometimes up to 40-50 km) of the river coastline, which the animals regularly visit while hunting. The average population density is 1 otter for every 4 km of river. Males have larger areas than females. Otters are territorial, but very tolerant of strangers, and try to avoid each other's company, marking the boundaries of their territories with their scent (a secretion secreted from a gland at the base of the tail, urine and feces).

The female Canadian otter makes its lair in a burrow among dense vegetation near water or in a burrow that has both underwater and above-water entrances. A nest is built from thin twigs of grass inside the den. The female has four pairs of nipples. The female is capable of mating 20 days after the birth of the young.

Pregnancy lasts 10-12 months. After fertilization, the eggs divide for some time, but do not touch the wall of the uterus, and only two months before birth do they come into contact with the mother’s body and complete their development. The female gives birth to 2-4 blind pups, completely covered with fur. The eyes open after 3-4 weeks. At two months of age, puppies begin to swim. Lactation lasts up to seven weeks. Until the age of 6 months, the female takes care of the cubs alone, then the father sometimes begins to take care of the offspring. Young otters in a family group learn to swim, dive and hunt. By the age of one year they are already completely independent. The young leave their mother when she is ready to give birth to the next litter. Only about half of the offspring survive to 2-3 years of age. Life expectancy in nature is 12-15 years, in captivity up to 23 years.

sea ​​otter

Marine Otter

(Lontra felina)

It is found in the temperate and tropical zones of the Pacific coast of South America (from northern Peru to the southernmost tip of Cape Horn). A small population survives in Argentina on the east coast of Tierra del Fuego. The species was introduced to the Falkland Islands, where they were brought by fur farmers; here they currently live in small groups. In the north, the sea otter does not go further than 6° S, in the south - no further than 53° S.

Body length - 57.0-78.7 cm, tail length 30.0-36.2 cm. Body weight - 3.2-5.8 kg.

The sea otter, unlike its fellows, lives exclusively in and near the sea. It settles in the littoral zone near rocky shores, where wind blows. strong winds. They occupy secluded bays and areas of river estuaries, associated with the ebb and flow of the tide of the order of 2.0-2.5 m, with banks on which a dense roof of bushes and small trees stretches down to the water level.

The main enemies are killer whales (killer whales). Young otters are preyed upon by sharks, predatory seabirds and animals.

The sea otter is omnivorous and feeds in the intertidal zone. The diet includes crabs (Lithodes antarctica), shellfish, fish, aquatic birds and other organisms living in the sea. Sometimes it enters rivers in search of freshwater shrimp (Criphiops caementarius). During the fruit ripening season, they eat the fruits of coastal plants from the bromeliad family. Approximate composition of the diet: fish (30%), crustaceans (40%), shellfish (20%) and other foods (10%).

The sea otter is a timid and secretive animal that is (mostly) diurnal (occasionally active at dusk and dawn). Animals spend 60-70% of their entire lives in water, hunting and obtaining food. Swims in the water with only its head and upper back exposed.

The sea otter catches its prey 100-500 m from the shore, diving to a depth of 30-50 m, diving near rocks and in algae thickets. Each dive lasts 15-30 seconds. This species does not use stones as tools for splitting crustacean shells, as the river otter does.

Although sea otters are predominantly aquatic animals, they also travel on land from time to time, moving up to 30 m from the shore and only when chasing prey can they go 500 m. On land, otters are good at climbing coastal rocks. Animals love to rest in dense vegetation that grows on the shore at the water's edge, usually located no further than 2-2.5 m from the water. The otter's lair is a tunnel and a hole, in which one of the holes leads to land and leads out into dense thickets. All the time when animals are free from hunting, they rest. Favorite resting places are located in dense vegetation. Dens are used for birth, feeding, resting and sleeping. Sea otters like to rest in the sun, perching on rocks approximately 1 meter above sea level. Otters build their rookeries and burrows in places abundant in food.

The sea otter leads a solitary lifestyle. The average population density is 1-10 otters per kilometer of coastline. Sometimes otters are found in groups of two or three, but no more. As a rule, they prefer to settle no closer than 200 m from each other. These are not territorial animals and do not react with any aggression to the appearance of other animals of their species on the site. Several females can settle in one area, which includes hunting grounds, resting areas and burrows. Sometimes otters mark rocks and dens with urine and feces, and in general they often defecate in the place where they sleep.

Pregnancy lasts 60-70 days. The female gives birth to two puppies (sometimes 4-5). Lactation continues for several months. Young people stay with their parents for 10 months. Parents bring food to the puppies and teach them how to hunt.

South American otter

Neotropical Otter

(Lontra longicaudis)

Distributed from Mexico to South America (Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, northern Argentina).

Body length - 50-79 cm, tail - 37.5-57 cm. Body weight - 5-15 kg.

Inhabits lakes, rivers, swamps and lagoons of a wide variety of riverine habitats located in deciduous and evergreen forests, savanna. Prefers to live in clean, fast-flowing rivers and streams. There is evidence of South American otters living in irrigation ditches in rice and sugar cane fields in Guyana.

Southern river otter

Southern River Otter

(Lontra provocax)

Distributed in Central and Southern Chile and some areas of Argentina.

Body length is from 100 to 116 cm, of which the tail accounts for 35-46 cm.

Eastern clawless otter

Asian Small-clawed Otter

(Amblonyx cinereus)

Distributed in Indonesia, Southern China, Southern India, Asia and the Philippines.

Body length including head 45-61 cm, tail length - 25-35 cm. Body weight - 2.7-5.4 kg.

Inhabits swampy lowlands and mangrove forests of South Asia. Main habitats: small streams, shallow estuaries and rice fields, both in upland and coastal areas. Avoids deep water.

It feeds on crabs, snails, lobsters, mollusks, frogs and other small aquatic animals.

The clawless otter spends more time on land than other otter species. Like a raccoon, it finds prey by groping along the bottom with its paws, digging in the bottom mud and turning over stones. With its paws, the otter tears its prey into pieces before putting it into its mouth. Otters are the only mammals other than primates capable of using their "hands" like humans. Shellfish with a strong otter shell are carried ashore and laid out in the sun. After waiting until the mollusks weaken and open themselves, the animals eat them.

Clawless otters are social, highly intelligent and curious animals. When they are not sleeping, they play, swim or burrow in the muddy bottom. One of the forms of communication among otters is play. When otters are not hunting or playing, they lounge on rocks, soaking up the sun, or swim lazily for pleasure. They build burrows near the water with an exit tunnel that is dug at a depth of about 90 cm under water, often with another entrance above the water level. Clawless otters have weak claws, so they can only dig burrows in very soft soil; more often they use natural shelters or use the burrows of other animals.

Eastern clawless otters are social animals. Monogamous, females dominate males. Many otters, having reached physical maturity, remain with their parents, thus forming groups of 4-12 and even up to 20 individuals. Otters use sound and scent to communicate. They use scent to determine territorial boundaries and provide information about the individual (gender, identity, time between visits). Each otter's scent is as individual as a fingerprint.

There are up to two litters per year. Estrus in the female eastern clawless otter lasts for 3 days, and if fertilization does not occur, the cycle repeats again after 28 days. The female, ready for mating, secretes a musky-smelling secretion from the scent glands (located at the base of the tail). The male, having caught this smell, immediately begins to intensively court his partner, who involves him in games that precede mating. The offspring are raised by both parents. The male brings prey for the mother and offspring until the young pups begin to hunt on their own.

Pregnancy lasts 60-64 days. There are 2-6 cubs in a litter, which are born naked and helpless. Their weight is 40-50 g, length is about 14 cm. The milk of the eastern clawless otter is very fatty (the fat content is almost 6 times higher than in cow's milk), despite this the babies grow quite slowly. The eyes open on day 40. At 9 weeks of age they begin to swim, and at 80 days they eat adult food.

Life expectancy in nature is 12-14 years, in captivity - a maximum of 22 years.

African clawless otter

African Clawless Otter

(Aonyx capensis)

Distributed in Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, in the south it reaches South Africa, in the north to Abyssinia. Common in Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Less common in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Chad, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Uganda, on the Ivory Coast.

The length of the body including the head is 60-100 cm, the tail is 40-71 cm. Weight is from 12 to 15 kg.

Inhabits tropical forests, open plains and semi-deserts. It usually settles near a water source (slowly flowing rivers, along the banks of ponds or streams).

It feeds on crabs, lobsters, mollusks and frogs. Much less often, its diet may include turtles, fish, lizards, waterfowl and small semi-aquatic mammals.

The way of life is aquatic and semi-aquatic animal. The clawless otter prefers shallow bodies of water. Most of the population lives in freshwater bodies, the rest occupies the sea coast. The clawless otter must drink fresh water and therefore, accordingly, lives near freshwater sources.

The otter spends most of its life in the water, swimming on the surface and diving to catch prey. During the hunt, the otter paws along the bottom, among stones and mud. When an otter sees prey, it dives straight down, grabs it, and returns to the surface. The otter tenaciously holds the caught prey with its paws, and, if necessary, helps itself with its teeth.

When eating prey animals, the clawless otter uses its front paws and strong teeth, which can crush shellfish shells. To open particularly durable shells, he uses a stone as a tool. After the hunt, the otter comes out of the water, rolls on the grass or sand until it dries, cleans its fur and often rubs against various objects: trees, stumps, earthen ledges, flat rocks, then the otter basks in the sun.

Latrines have been found near cleaning and resting areas, but most often African clawless otters use special places located near the den for toileting. The distance from the “toilet” to the water is on average 4.2 m. The majority of excretions (85%) were left by otters at a distance of 1-7 m from the water and 15% - up to 10-15 m from the water. The otter, which lives on the sea coast, hunts both in the sea and in coastal swamps with fresh water. During periods of drought, she is forced to roam in search of suitable conditions.

For daytime rest or for den, the clawless otter often uses burrows dug by other animals, or is located in dense thickets of vegetation located along the banks of rivers or on islands. Sometimes she makes her lair under rocks, snags, fallen trees or under driftwood. In sandy soil, the otter digs its own holes. Some burrows have multiple entrances located above or below the water level, and the dug tunnels reach from 1.9 to 2.9 m in length. The entrance hole is 246-361 mm in height and 32-85 mm in width (depending on the size of the owner of the hole). The hole ends in a den with a diameter of 30-40 cm, which is always lined with vegetation. The otter locates its lair no further than 15 (less often 50) m from a freshwater body of water. Neighboring dens are within one kilometer of each other.

On the one hand, the African clawless otter is a rather solitary animal, but at the same time, the animals keep in related groups, the hunting areas of which often overlap. Males hunt over a territory of 17 km, females - 14, although they spend most of their lives within their home range, which is half the size of the hunting area. Otters from families living in the neighborhood often feed together and often work together to defend the boundaries of their areas from strangers.

Pregnancy lkbncz approximately 63 days. The female gives birth to 2-5 puppies (on average - 2-3). Newborn puppies are blind and are born covered in pale, smoky gray, poorly developed, sparse fur. At one week of age, puppies weigh about 260 g, and two-week-old ones - 700-1400 g. Puppies mature in the period from 16 to 30 days. The female feeds the puppies with milk: she has two pairs of breast nipples. Between 8 and 16 weeks, clawless otter puppies gain approximately 330 grams in weight. in Week. The female stops feeding milk at 45-60 days of age. The offspring stays with the mother for a year or more.

Sea otter

Sea Otter

(Enhydra lutris)

Distributed in Russian Far East, off the coast of Alaska and off the coast of California.

Adult males weigh from 22 to 45 kg and grow in length from 120 to 150 cm.

Sea otters play a very important role in ocean ecology by controlling the number of sea urchins. Uncontrolled reproduction of these invertebrates leads to destruction seaweed, which in turn has a cascading, irreversible effect on the marine ecosystem.

Sea otters are predominantly diurnal, spending most of their time in the water. Currently, sea otters, living in places inaccessible to humans, for example on Medny Island, still spend the night on land 10-15 meters from the water, especially in stormy weather. When the sea is very rough, old or sick animals often come ashore, as they do not have enough strength to withstand the surf. In addition, female northern sea otters often give birth to cubs on land: on the shore or on coastal rocks. On the other hand, sea otters that live in human-inhabited areas, such as California sea otters, rarely leave the water. The structure of the sea otter's body allows it to sleep freely in the water while lying on its back, since the animal's lungs are enlarged and can hold enough air so that the animal can easily maintain buoyancy. However, it is the aquatic environment that is the most natural and safe for the sea otter. Sea otters are more adapted for movement in water than on land; it is in water that animals prefer to eat the food they have caught. In calm weather, sea otters swim from the shore to a distance of up to 25 kilometers; during storms they prefer to stay in shallow water.

Sea otters are extremely friendly animals both towards each other and towards other animals, except those that are part of their diet. Sea otters coexist quite calmly with fur seals, sea lions, and seals, sometimes sharing beds with them. Fights between these animals are extremely rare. The confrontation occurs mainly between territorial males, but in most cases it is symbolic in nature.

Sea otters sometimes live alone, but more often in small groups without signs of any hierarchical organization. Scientists now agree that such groups do not have clearly defined leaders. Individual animals sometimes leave such groups, sometimes newcomers join the groups, and newcomers are greeted by other individuals good-naturedly, and not with hostility, as happens in many other species of mammals. Such groups themselves, as a rule, are formed segregatedly and consist of either males, or single females, or females with cubs. No systematic pattern was found in the movements of such groups of sea otters. During the day, a group of sea otters swims over an area of ​​about 5.5 km 2, and individual individuals rarely swim more than 2 km per day. Sea otters do not have any seasonal migrations. Since female sea otters are less localized than territorial males, groups are not strictly constant in the composition of the animals. The formation of groups occurs in the same places, the most convenient for rest, usually in the densest thickets of brown algae. Single male sea otters sometimes travel very long distances.

Sea otters lead an active lifestyle, and in addition, they spend a lot of energy maintaining their body temperature (38 °C), spending a lot of time in the water. In this regard, sea otters need to eat food daily in an amount of 20-25% of their body weight. The metabolic rate of sea otters is 8 times higher than that of land mammals of similar size. Thus, sea otters eat often and a lot.

The diet of sea otters depends on the habitat, but always consists mainly of sea urchins, mollusks and crabs. Typically, sea otters dive for prey in shallow water and collect prey from the bottom into a kind of pocket formed by a fold of skin and located under the left front paw. (The same pocket is located under the right paw, but sea otters do not use it, since, according to observations, they are all right-handed). Having picked up several specimens, sea otters lie on their backs on the surface of the water and methodically remove one specimen from their pocket, open or chew them, and then eat them. From time to time, the sea otter turns over 360° in the water to clean its belly from scraps, and the pocket is not emptied from this operation. This operation is important for regularly keeping the fur clean.

The universal structure of the gastrointestinal tract of the sea otter allows it to eat a variety of foods. Indeed, in times of famine, sea otters are sometimes forced to hunt even coastal birds, and sometimes, according to the observations of hunters, they feed on the meat of dead animals, especially arctic foxes. Sea otters drink seawater, and in larger quantities than other marine animals, which may be due to their diet, which contains large amounts of protein.

Sea otters do not have a pronounced mating season, so mating and the birth of young occur all year round. Some scientists note, however, a slightly higher frequency of matings in the spring in some habitats.

Male sea otters reach sexual maturity by 5-6 years (and retain the ability to reproduce until the end of their lives), females - usually by 4 years, less often by 2-3 years. Courtship is usually very playful and active among sea otters. The female and male swim and dive after each other for a long time until the immediate process of mating begins. Mating itself always takes place in water, but in different poses in different habitats, but what is characteristic is that the male always holds the female by the nose with his teeth, and mating ends with a rather painful bite. In this regard, females with mating experience have characteristic scars on their noses. During both courtship and mating, the male positions himself in the water with his face down, sometimes holding the female underwater. In this regard, in rare cases, mating can be fatal for females. “Families” of sea otters are polygamous, that is, a male can simultaneously fertilize several females. The male stays with the female for 3-5 days and during this time protects her from competitors, however, confrontations between males almost never result in fights, but are resolved at the stage of threatening poses.

Pregnancy in female sea otters occurs with a delay; the embryo first goes through a latent phase, lasting 2-3 months, during which it does not attach to the wall of the uterus (about 100 various types mammals; this allows the mother's body to choose the best metabolic period for pregnancy itself). Pregnancy itself lasts about 6 months (7-8 months for northern sea otters).

Childbirth in females of most subspecies occurs on coastal rocks or on land. In 99% of cases, one cub (“mother bear”) is born. In rare cases, twins are born, but under normal circumstances only one cub may survive. Cubs are born brownish-yellow, weighing from 1.5 kg, covered with baby down. It is common among sea otters to adopt other people's cubs, so the second cub of twins can survive if it is adopted by a female whose cub died.

Newborn sea otters are unable to survive on their own for several months and are completely dependent on their mother. Males do not participate in the educational processes and abandon females a day or two after mating. Throughout the first months of a sea otter’s life, the mother holds it on her stomach, feeds, trains and grooms it, only occasionally leaving the baby on the rocks or in the water while she dives for food for herself. At these moments, the small sea otter squeaks in alarm, waiting for its mother to return. A newborn sea otter can independently float on the water in a position on its back, like a “float”, but is not able to swim, get food for itself and does not know how to comb its hair. Sea otters are completely dependent on their mother from 5 to 15 months (6 months on average); infant mortality is quite high: about 30% of the cubs die in the first year of life.

During the first month, the mother feeds the calf exclusively with her own milk, which is more similar in composition to the milk of other marine mammals than to the milk of other mustelids, and contains 23% fat, 13% protein and only 1% lactose. After this, she begins to gradually feed the baby “adult food.” Gradually the mother teaches the baby in various ways hunting, eating the “right” food, combing and other skills.