What does ermine eat? Features of hunting ermine.
But it is a very fast and voracious predator. Ermine prey eats quite diversely. The main food of Ermine Ermine is rodents. Ermine eats vole mice, rats, hamsters, shrews, chipmunks. However, the little robber is not averse to other foods - fish, small birds, lizards, insects. Also a clever thief ruins the nests of birds and eats eggs.
Ermine goes hunting at dusk and hunts all night until dawn. He can be so bold and fearless that he attacks big game - grouse, grouse, grouse, grouse and partridge. Ermine also hunts animals, which are much larger than its size - hares and rabbits.
Fast and furious, the ermine runs as if it is standing on the ground, diving between snags and leaves. Sneaks through like the wind and it is impossible to guess where the fast animal will come out of the grass. And in winter, he easily jumps on the snow without falling into the snow.
Thanks to its compact size, a predatory ermine can penetrate the burrows of rodents. As the female is much smaller than the male, it is much easier for her to do so. Therefore, females are considered more skilled hunters than males. And this method of hunting is mainly inherent to females.
The average ermine diet is 5 vole mice per day. The predator passes from 3 to 15 km per night in search of food. These animals have well developed feelings, so in hunting they use them all: good eyesight, hearing and smell.
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/13/c5/a9/13c5a9e5d1766d5cf8fc979ed2cc2bd6.jpgOn the snow, they move with dexterous jumps up to half a meter long, starting from the ground with both hind legs. When the probable victim is identified, the ermine gets as close to it as possible, and then makes a rapid leap by biting its teeth into the back of the victim's head and wrapping itself around it. If the prey doesn't die, there are a few more bites to the neck. Thus, the ermine attacks from behind and the killing of the prey is done by biting the victim's occipital area.
Ermine is considered a rather dangerous animal. One of the unique features of the Ermine Ermine hunting is a kind of dance performed by the animal. In the dance, Ermines hypnotize and distract their victims, which allows you to get closer to the jump. This dance of these pranksters is called the "Ermine Death Dance".
Ermine calves
The Ermine Age of Mating takes place once a year - from March to June. Females are able to reproduce at 3 months and males only at the age of 12 months. Pregnancy of the female lasts about 10 months. This duration of pregnancy is due to a unique feature - the embryo develops with great delay. Therefore, the ermine calves are born only in April-May next year.
Before the birth, the female begins to equip herself with a nest, which can be located under rocks or under a fallen tree.
An old stump, a hollow or a hole of a rodent may also be a place to breed. The female herder lays her brooding hole in the skins and wool of the killed rodents, dry grass.
On average, 4-9 calves are born, but the maximum number can be up to 18. Only the female is engaged in newborns. Ermine calves are similar to worms.
Small ermine weights are 3-4 g, with a body length of 3-5 cm.
Ermines are born blind, toothless, deaf and covered with rare white wool. A week later, the calf's tail tip turns black. After 3 weeks, teeth appear. After a month they open their eyes, after 40 days they start to hear.
During the first month, the mother hardly ever leaves her cubs, as they need her warmth and care. The female feeds her cubs with milk for about 3 months. Ermine calves grow quickly and are very voracious. From the hole they are shown only in the second month of life. During this period, the mother is rarely in the den, she actively hunting to feed her children.
The mobility of the calf's ermine appears early, immediately after opening their eyes. In the course of the game, the cubs develop hunting skills: bite and grip. When the cubs can already eat solid food, the mother arranges for a supply of food in the den. These can be rabbits, hares or ducklings.
If there is more than enough food, it means that you can not only eat, but also have something to do at leisure. After all, the little ermine loves to play. They do not sit still for a second. When there is no companion to the game, the role of a teddy bear, which you can torture the victim, which the mother has stored as food.
By the time they are three months old, the cubs will have reached the size of an adult. In July, they already hunt for food on their own. By the end of summer, the brood breaks up and each individual starts to live independently.
to be continued in the next part