Join our zoo community

weasel common name

Discussion in 'Wildlife & Nature Conservation' started by overread, 8 Feb 2016.

  1. overread

    overread Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9 Dec 2015
    Posts:
    318
    Location:
    England
    Recently came across something that is surprising me regarding the name of the weasel, which is that apparently it is correctly commonly know as the "lest weasel". This surprise me since I've never heard it called that before. Part of me wo ders if thisis judt aomethi g semiformal that isn'tused in commn parlance that often or if it's something which has come over from America?
     
  2. bongorob

    bongorob Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    18 May 2007
    Posts:
    6,312
    Location:
    Stoke-on-Trent England
    Least weasel is a name I first noticed 15-20 years ago, it is possibly of American origin as they have more than one species. In the U.K. it is normally just called weasel.
     
  3. Macaw16

    Macaw16 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    28 Feb 2015
    Posts:
    923
    Location:
    Yorkshire
    It is to distinguish between other animals with weasel in their name (Long-tailed Weasel for example). In the UK we only have one animal referred to as the weasel, so we don't really need to use the 'Least' part in our day to day usage for the Least Weasel. While in the USA they have a few animals which commonly carry the name of _____ Weasel (including the Stoat, which is known as the Short-tailed Weasel), where simply calling something a Weasel wouldn't suffice. When using it in the UK referring to Mustela nivalis, it is alright to just say Weasel (many field guides just call it weasel as well).
     
  4. overread

    overread Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9 Dec 2015
    Posts:
    318
    Location:
    England
    Thanks guys, I thought it sounded odd on the wiki-article. I do however find it greatly amusing how the stoat is called the "short tailed weasel" and then a line later on the weasel wiki page it says that it has the longer tail than a weasel ;)