# Where Do Stoats Live?

> Where stoats live: Woodlands, farmland, and tundra across the Northern Hemisphere, native range cues, and human overlap. Status Least Concern.

- **Species:** Stoat (*Mustela erminea*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Carnivore — rabbits, rodents, birds, and eggs
- **Habitat:** Woodlands, farmland, and tundra across the Northern Hemisphere
- **Lifespan:** 4–7 years in the wild
- **Top speed:** Up to 25 km/h (16 mph); agile climber
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/stoat/where-do-stoat-live/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/stoat/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small, slender carnivore of the weasel family found across the Northern Hemisphere in woodland, farmland, and tundra. Weighing just 200 to 400 g and about 30 cm long, it is a fierce, agile hunter of rabbits, rodents, birds, and eggs. In the far north its brown coat turns pure white in winter, when it is known as ermine. Stoats live 4 to 7 years and are listed as Least Concern.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a sighting hotline. This page is native range and habitat.

## Appearance and the ermine coat

The stoat is a long, low-slung mammal about 30 cm in length, with chestnut-brown fur above, a creamy belly, and a distinctive black tip to its tail. It weighs only 200 to 400 g, with males noticeably larger than females. In colder regions the coat moults to pure white each winter, a form long prized in fur trade and heraldry as ermine, though the black tail-tip always remains. This seasonal change is triggered by shortening day length and provides camouflage against snow.

## Help protect the Stoat

Even familiar animals lose ground as wild habitat keeps shrinking worldwide.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/stoat/where-do-stoat-live/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.