Quick answer
Key facts about stoat — size, diet, habitat, and conservation in one place.
Winter ermine coat
In northern latitudes the stoat's brown summer pelage turns white in winter — except the black tail tip. The tip may draw hawk attacks away from the body. Ermine trim once signified royalty in Europe.
Rabbit hunting
Stoats kill prey much larger than themselves by biting the neck vertebrae. In New Zealand, introduced stoats devastate native ground-nesting birds despite control programmes.
Reproduction and nesting
Females can carry fertilised embryos in delayed implantation, timing births to spring abundance. Kits are born in nests lined with fur in burrows or rock crevices.
Stoat vs weasel
Stoats are larger with a black tail tip and longer bounding gait. Weasels lack the black tip and take smaller prey in tighter cover — both are native across Eurasia and North America.