Head to head
Stoat vs Long-Tailed Weasel
The stoat and long-tailed weasel are close relatives sharing a similar long, tubular body and hunting style, but they differ in size, range, and just how much ecological damage one of them has caused far from home.
| Stoat | Long-Tailed Weasel | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Mustela erminea | Neogale frenata |
| Alternate North American name | Short-tailed weasel | None widely used |
| Notorious invasive history | Yes, devastated native birds in New Zealand | No comparable introduction |
| Relative size | Similar to long-tailed weasel | Largest of North America’s slender weasels |
| Black-tipped tail year-round | Yes | Yes |
| Winter white coat (northern range) | Yes | Yes |
| Conservation status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Diet | Carnivore | Carnivore |
Stoat vs Long-Tailed Weasel: common questions
What is the difference between a stoat and a long-tailed weasel?
The two are closely related and similar in size, but the stoat, also called the short-tailed weasel in North America, is infamous for a disastrous introduction to New Zealand, while the long-tailed weasel is the largest of North America's native slender weasel species and has no comparable history of causing damage abroad.
Why was the stoat introduced to New Zealand, and what happened?
Stoats were introduced to New Zealand in the 1880s in a misguided attempt to control rabbits that earlier settlers had released, but because New Zealand's native birds evolved with no mammalian predators, stoats instead became one of the country's most damaging threats to flightless and ground-nesting bird species.
Do both the stoat and long-tailed weasel turn white in winter?
Yes, in northern parts of their respective ranges, both species moult to a white winter coat for camouflage against snow, retaining a black tip on the tail year-round in both cases, then moult back to a brown coat as warmer weather returns.