NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — Don’t let their appearance fool you. They may be small and cute, but they’re actually ferocious, and they’ve made New Mexico one of their many homes.
Take a look at the two types of weasels found in the Land of Enchantment. “New Mexico is the southernmost extent of [the long tailed weasel’s] short range in North America. So we’re kind of right at the fringe, the frontier of where they are in North America. And so they’re not necessarily as abundant as they are in other states, but they are common kind of in those high, higher altitude forested areas,” said Carnivore and Small Mammal Program Manager of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Nick Forman. “Then we also have long-tailed weasels, which live across kind of a lot of the forested, brushy or shrubby habitat types that we have throughout a lot of New Mexico. And where we are in their range is kind of right in the middle of it. They extend up further into kind of more northern states and up towards Canada.”
Forman says the way they’re found in a variety of different habitats speaks to their adaptability, and they tend to be pretty common in their designated areas. Specifically, the East Mountains, towards the Sandia and Guadalajara mountain ranges. When long-tailed weasels are spotted, they are often mistaken for black-footed ferrets, due to their black facial marking that looks somewhat like a mask.
As for the distinguishing qualities between the two types, it mostly comes down to stature and food. “[The difference] is really just their size. The short-tailed weasel is just a smaller weasel. Their tail is less proportionally long compared to their body size. That long-tailed weasel has a really long tail on them,” Forman explained. “And both of them are just, they’re what we call obligate carnivores. So they are made to be predators. They don’t really like scavenging at all. And they’re pretty ferocious predators.” The short-tailed weasels typically stick for rodent-sized animals like chipmunks, while long-tailed weasels may attack bigger prey like hares and rabbits.
How these weasels look in the summer is likely to be completely different come winter. At high elevations with frosty winters, these weasels’ coat will change to pure white, with just a bit of black on the tip of their tail.
Long-tailed and short-tailed are the only “true weasels” New Mexico sees, but there are species belonging to the weasel family, also known as Mustelidae, that call the Land of Enchantment home. Those species include river otters, American badgers, minks, and more.
All in all, Forman says it’s best to just leave these critters alone, regardless of how cute they may be. “I think people should just, obviously, respect them from a distance,” said Forman. “There can be a problem with things like chicken coops and things like that, because like I said, [weasels have] no fear. They just go after anything that they think they can take down… Folks should just be aware that they’re out there.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments