I used to think that ladybugs are the cutest predator in the world but I’ve changed my mind — that title belongs to the weasel. I had never seen a weasel before this year and now I’ve seen three long-tailed weasels and finally photographed one. The first two I saw were at Ridgefield (where else?) and I found this impossibly cute fellow at Mount Rainier. Although it’d be less cute if I was a vole and it wrapped its long body around me while delivering the death blow …
After spending most of the day photographing pikas and marmots and ground squirrels on the Pinnacle Peak Trail, I came back up late in the day with my tripod to take advantage of the beautiful evening light. Unfortunately there wasn’t a pika or marmot in sight when I got to my favorite spot, so I sat down for a moment to decide if I should wait a bit or continue on.
I heard a high-pitched trill behind me and when I turned about spotted this weasel high on the hillside, close to where a pika had been foraging earlier. I took a few pictures before it disappeared, it seemed disappointed to find no mammals out and about (apart from me, but I am fierce). I don’t know if the pikas had already sensed the weasel and made themselves scarce, but I figured they weren’t about to come out now in any case so I continued up the trail.
My mammals guidebook has an anecdote about a weasel chasing a pika in a talus field. As the chase wore on and the pika tired, another pika popped up between them and the weasel chased it instead, eventually the weasel itself tired and left to look for easier prey. I don’t know how common such noble gestures are in the pika world, but I’ve often wondered if the squirrels in our yard don’t do something similar.
During the cats outdoor time, there are occasions where a squirrel will sit on the fence or a tree and just give the cats the business. The three of them will sit transfixed below the squirrel and I’ve never understood why it didn’t just continue on its way, but sometimes I’ve noticed that while it has the cats rapt attention, the other squirrels have free reign of the opposite side of the yard to carry large nuts up to their nest.
Whether it’s intentional or not, it is effective as the cats can’t seem to tear themselves away from the scolding squirrel.
