A least weasel, a critically endangered species in South Korea and the world’s smallest carnivorous mammal, has been spotted in the wild for the first time in eight years.
The Korea National Park Service released Thursday a photo of the elusive animal taken on June 26 during a wildlife monitoring session in Jirisan National Park. The weasel was captured peeking out from between rocks, a rare sighting of a species so elusive that it was last observed in the same area in July 2017.
A least weasel, or Mustela nivalis, typically measures between 15–18 centimeters in body length, with a short tail and legs, and weighs a mere 50 to 150 grams. It is, however, a fierce predator, primarily feeding on small rodents as well as small amphibians, reptiles and birds.
A single least weasel can reportedly eat between 2,000 and 3,000 mice per year, earning it the nickname "the mouse-catching mouse" in North Korea. In the South, it is called "Musan-soe-jokjebi," meaning steel weasel from Musan, after a region in the North where it was most commonly found.
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