Pa. is Home to World's Smallest Carnivore
The smallest living carnivore is the least weasel, which lives in Pennsylvania.
Similar to other weasels in color and body form, the males are larger than females. Their fur is brown above and whitish below during summer and, in northern snowy climates, entirely white during the winter. Their total length is 8 inches or less and they weigh in at 1 to 3 ounces. They feed almost entirely on mice and are small enough to pursue rodents into runways, burrows, and nest chambers.
The change of the winter coat to white, or "snow-like" gives rise to its scientific name Mustela nivalis and in this way it is like the rare plant snow trillium (Trillium nivale).
Least
weasels can be found in the western two-thirds of Pennsylvania.
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