# Fish thief! Caught in flagranti



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

So the Pud has been mega-excited about 'someone' who moved into a crack in the bottom of our house. The only signs before have been some delicate footprints in the snow and some mad rushes and manic barking by Pudden underneath the cabin.

And then one night the Pud alerts me that someone has broken into our Arctic entryway and was stealing her breakfast fish:


----------



## photoweborama (Dec 6, 2007)

What is that thing? It's cute!


----------



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

What the heck is that thing?!?! 

Whatever it is, it has a cute face!


----------



## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

What a face! Is that a ferret?


----------



## Sucker For Gold (Jan 13, 2009)

I don't think it's a ferret, I had 3 a number of years ago.

It sorta looks like a small otter to me...the head anyways and it appears to have webbed feet.

Whatever it is it's cute.

I think the Pud should do a rescue, adopt the little critter and share the fish.

Then perhaps we could all make him/her the GFR mascot.


----------



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

LOL - it's an ermine (stoat, weasel) The feet aren't really webbed - they are just very furry in winter. These guys are brown in summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermine


----------



## olik (Apr 13, 2008)

very cute visitor. Is he will be a new friend for Pud? LOL I am sure he would love to chase him around.


----------



## magiclover (Apr 22, 2008)

He's really cute and apparently clever too.


----------



## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

o m g!!!! Am i the only one who doesn't find that thing cute AT ALL??? If I saw that in/around my house I would have a heart attack... I guess i'm just weird...lol... Hopefully it's friendly!!


----------



## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

That is one of the better looking visitors I guess one could get in a house. It sure beats the looks of a mouse , rat or bat....


----------



## my4goldens (Jan 21, 2009)

Double Ditto on the above post. This creature kind of gives me the creeps. We live on a farm and have many critters around here, raccoons, possums, other assorted creatures that drive the dogs nuts, last sumer saw something like this down by the barn, except it was all black. I ran screaming back to the house like a baby.


----------



## dogluver04 (Jul 5, 2008)

I think its adorable.. espeically in the pics where he is staring up at you!


----------



## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

we have those (weasels) in Indiana too, you just don't see them very often. we know they've been here when we find out chickens pulled through the fence with their heads eaten off...

maybe the Pud will eat its head off, darn pest!


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

That is an adorable animal!


----------



## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

So, does Ernie the Ermine have his own bed & dish now? He is a cutie but aren't they vicious?


----------



## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Oh, now I would love one of those! We have a mouse in the house right now. I can hear it run under the window board right behind my head when I'm trying to sleep. Yup, the window is right behind my headboard.


----------



## MyBaileyGirl (Jun 11, 2008)

It's so CUTE! Are they mean?


----------



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I take it Pudden wasn't crazy about sharing her breakfast with that little weasel. I'm surprised you were able to get so many pictures of the brazen little devil.


----------



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

Well, no, he doesn't have his own dish. The Pud would like to kill it, no doubt, but Ernie the Ermine is faster. He's not mean or vicious, but they're powerful little predators, and if caught or cornered no doubt would use their teeth in defense. I've heard of a number of dogs who've had their faces bitten by one of these, so I'm kinda glad he's too fast and cunning for the Pud.

It's kinda refreshing to have something so little and cute in our yard. Usually, it's a big cranky moose mama with hairy eyeballs.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

It is a real cutie and I bet it could be vicious if cornered. Good tha Pudden didnt get to close but those are some cute pictures of the weasel. I would like to see one of those rather than a water moccisin on my back porch.


----------



## Clhoie (Dec 16, 2008)

haha its kind of cute!! Atleast it wasnt a rat =)


----------



## Cam's Mom (Apr 13, 2007)

Doesn't look too afraid of humans...that's a bit worrying! DO folks keep them as pets, an escapee maybe?


----------



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I used to think Raccoons were cute til I saw one up close. I was petrified.

I think a cute little weasel would cause the same reaction....


----------



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

Cam's Mom said:


> Doesn't look too afraid of humans...that's a bit worrying! DO folks keep them as pets, an escapee maybe?


lol- not around here. We're in the middle of a big wide wilderness. They are fairly common, but are stealthy and seldom seen. This fella has been living under our house for over a year at least, and this is the only time I saw him.

When out skiing, I see little tracks of weasels and a multitude of other small critters everywhere. We have lots of foxes, too


----------



## Merlins mom (Jun 20, 2007)

Pudden said:


> It's kinda refreshing to have something so little and cute in our yard. Usually, it's a big cranky moose mama with hairy eyeballs.


LOLOLOLOL! I can't imagine that!

The ermine is cute!!!! I'd probably be feeding it by now.


----------



## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

At first I thought it was cute.. then it started to look a little disturbing to me.. then I read this..

Diet
The ermine is a carnivore. It eats insects, rabbits; rodents such as the mouse, vole and rat; other small mammals; birds and their eggs and young; and sometimes fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. It is a very skillful tree climber and can descend a trunk headfirst, like a squirrel. The ermine is capable of killing animals much larger than itself. When it is able to obtain more meat than it can eat it will engage in "surplus killing" and often stores the extra food for later. When this is the case, it will often kill by breaking the prey's neck without marking the body, presumably so its cache does not spoil easily.


yup, disturbing...
But then again where I live I am sure I have some critters that would make some of you shiver...


----------



## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

jnmarr said:


> At first I thought it was cute.. then it started to look a little disturbing to me.. then I read this..
> 
> Diet
> The ermine is a carnivore. It eats insects, rabbits; rodents such as the mouse, vole and rat; other small mammals; birds and their eggs and young; and sometimes fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. It is a very skillful tree climber and can descend a trunk headfirst, like a squirrel. The ermine is capable of killing animals much larger than itself. When it is able to obtain more meat than it can eat it will engage in "surplus killing" and often stores the extra food for later. When this is the case, it will often kill by breaking the prey's neck without marking the body, presumably so its cache does not spoil easily.
> ...


<shrug> well, it's a predator. Like our dogs and cats. But it's only about a foot long, so not all that menacing - unless you're a rabbit


----------



## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

I think it's cute, wouldn't mind having one as a guest in my house. Well outside that is..LOL


----------



## LucyD (Nov 20, 2008)

It's so cute and scary at the same time! lol What a weasel, haha.


----------

