“Around 3:30 PM, we witnessed a meeting with the weasel (‘arys chychkan’). It was an astonishing sight: the predator grabbed a rat and swiftly disappeared from view,” eyewitnesses reported.
In Kyrgyzstan, the mountain Turkestan subspecies of the weasel is found, which is distinguished by its light brown summer fur and medium size compared to others common in the post-Soviet space. This predator inhabits various landscapes—from plains to high mountains—but its population is distributed very unevenly.
In most regions, the weasel is significantly less numerous than the stoat, and only in some places can it prevail.
The populations of weasels and stoats depend on the number of stone martens. Similar to the sable in Siberia, this predator affects the population of small mustelids, reducing their numbers in its habitat.
The weasel prefers more open spaces compared to the stoat. Its diet includes mouse-like rodents and shrews, although it may occasionally hunt other small vertebrates. In Northern Kyrgyzstan, young weasels reach nearly full adulthood by the end of June and begin an independent life, indicating their birth in April.
The reproduction of the weasel occurs more slowly than that of the stoat. On average, a litter consists of 4 to 7 offspring.
