Insatiable ermine and cannibalism

December 26-28, 2016: I've written in this space before my admiration for the ermine, or, the short-tailed weasel if you will. These little guys are true carnivores, eating nothing but meat... period! Their main diet is small rodents like mice and voles but they will also kill and eat many animals that are much larger than they are, like hares, grouse and squirrels. The ermine typically kills its prey by biting into the base of their victim's skull. According to the New World Encyclopedia, "There are several recorded instances of ermines "transfixing" rabbits by exhibiting a tumbling routine akin to a dance. The rabbit appears fooled by this activity and fails to recognize the danger as the ermine approaches within striking distance. Once close enough, the rabbit falls easy prey to the ermine." They will also go on killing sprees, killing much more than they can eat at one time but they do cache food. They are also hardy breeders, producing several "kits" each year. They are also superior thieves of a trapper's bait. It amazes me how many times I'm robbed of my bait on the trapline. Often, they are caught by the trap but more often than not, they escape with the bait. They are usually caught when they try to take the bait with them, which sets off the trap trigger, catching them and sometimes the bait as well. On my trapline, they are definitely abundant, as their tracks can be seen almost everywhere. I think my record catch in a single year is 42 with almost 95% being males - not once did I set an actual trap for them.

I managed to take this photo while the little guy was stealing my bait.

On this trip to the trapline, many of my traps had been sprung and many more were simply missing the bait. I managed to catch six of the little buggers, one of which had been partially eaten in the trap by another weasel. They truly do eat only meat, including their own. Below is an assortment of weasel catches from this trip.

The next photo shows the weasel that had been eaten by another one. The weasel simply dined on its fallen comrade.

Lynx are another one of those predators that will dine on their own. Some trappers have a real issue with lynx cannibalism on their lines, making them do trapline checks more often than normal once they get their lynx sets out. I've never had a problem with cannibalism on my line making checks every four days. However, my last visit to the trapline was eight days ago, double what I usually do, as Christmas got in the way this year, setting me back. So it was with dismay that I arrived at a lynx cubby that held nothing but an empty snare and tufts of lynx fur. Some intestine was left behind but for the most part, there was nothing left but some fur. Now, when lynx cannibalize one of their own, I'm told they usually just eat off portions of the hind quarters and seldom more. So, without any clear sign of tracks to determine what consumed my lynx, I'm leaning more to wolves or perhaps even a coyote than I am to another lynx, based on the complete consumption of the animal. Regardless, I'm quite disappointed because I never had another lynx catch on this check.

Here you can see what was left of the lynx. Notice the tufts of lynx fur.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have a marten set in "dead forest" just because I want something to check on my way through. Last trip, I caught my first marten there and on this trip, much to my surprise, I had a mink in the same spot. Now, what's strange about that is there is no water anywhere near this spot. The nearest water from what I can tell, which would be the headwaters of Windfall Creek, is at least two miles away. This mink is definitely a young one so perhaps it became disoriented? Maybe it was pushed out of an area by another mink and was looking for a new home range? It's hard to say but regardless, I was happy to add it to my catch.

The wandering mink far from water.

Mink are a semi-aquatic predator whose diet is mainly made up of fish and other aquatic life. They are mammals of the Mustelidae family, which also includes the ermine, as well as marten, fisher, wolverine, badger and even otter. Like all predators, mink have an incredible set of teeth on them. They are usually caught along waterways, not in the middle of a forest.

Mink have a big set of chompers!

The last trail I check before reaching Cabin Trail and the comforts of the cabin is a trail my dad and I cleared and subsequently named Clear Trail, about five years ago. This trail has been a good producer over the years including my first marten and first lynx on this trapline. So when I picked up my second marten of the season, I was elated. My marten population has dwindled considerably since the logging company decided to remove more than 500 hectares of my best marten habitat. They are still logging so while they are, I'm going to continue to remove as many marten as I can. The marten I'm catching are young-of-the-year looking for a new home range, of which there isn't any. So removing them is the proper thing to do lest they die of starvation or are killed by other adult marten existing in already established home ranges.

Marten number two, a young-of-the-year male.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing around the cabin, enjoying the solitude of being in the middle of nowhere. In the morning, I packed up my gear and headed towards the Ranch. I have a few more coyote snares up that needed checking and I wanted to get some more up, provided I had tracks in the new snow that had fallen recently.

When I arrived at the Ranch, the first snare I checked held a nice young female coyote. The young females with white bellies are highly sought after. Canada is the biggest buyer of coyotes in the world, mostly because of the Canada Goose company that makes extreme winter outerwear. Their jackets are lined with down and the hoods on their parkas are trimmed with coyote fur. These coats are expensive but there probably isn't a better winter coat made anywhere else in the world.

A nice young female coyote.

After checking a few empty snares, readjusting others, and adding a few more, I picked up another young female coyote. This particular coyote has a real nice white belly. Considering that good coyotes will be bringing as much as $150.00 this year at auction, I was elated to say the least.

Another nice young female coyote.

I loaded up, found a much needed cold beer in my cooler, downed it, and hit the road. I had a bunch of skinning to take care of.

Until next time!