African+Stripped+Weasel

The African striped weasel is a carnivorous mammal indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only species to be classified under the Poecilogale genus. An individual’s fur is comprised most black with white streaks expanding its back. A stripped weasel has a small head with an equally small snout and ears and curved, sharp claws. The weasel is known as one of the smallest carnivores in Africa, only spanning a length of twelve inches. Males of the species are larger than females, with males on average weighing twelve ounces and females weighing about nine ounces.

The African stripped weasel is a nocturnal species, hunting mostly rodents smaller or as equally large as an individual weasel. Using it’s snout, a weasel tracks its prey and when the prey is spot, the individual will make a sudden strike at the prey’s back of the neck. Once in attack mode, the weasel will attempt to kill its prey by flailing its own body in every-which-way in order to tear up the prey. Once it is deceased, one may not eat the carcass immediately, instead burrowing it away for later consumption.

The weasel is an antisocial creature, only ever interacting with others of its kind to either breed or dual-dig burrows. The mating season of the African striped weasel spans between spring and summer. When breeding, the two individuals have intercourse at least three times and after thirty days the female gives birth to a litter of two to three offspring. Within twenty weeks after birth, one weasel becomes a full adult and beginning after eight months the offspring becomes sexually mature itself.

The species is classified as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning it is in no danger of becoming extinct. The weasels are most commonly found in savannahs but are also capable of living in forests and grasslands.