The weasel war dance or mustelid war dance is a colloquial term for the behavior of excited ferrets and other members of the

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

subfamily. Naturalists speculate that weasels in the wild use the dance to confuse or disorient prey.

In domestic ferrets

In domestic ferrets the war dance usually follows play or the successful capture of a

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

or a stolen object. The war dance is commonly held to mean that the ferret is thoroughly enjoying itself. The behavior consists of a frenzied series of erratic leaps, often accompanied by an arched back and a frizzed-out

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

. Ferrets are notoriously clumsy as they dance and will often collide with or fall over objects and furniture. The war dance usually includes a clucking vocalization, known among domestic ferret owners as "dooking". It normally indicates happiness. Although the war dance may make a ferret appear frightened or angry, they are often just excited and are generally harmless to humans.

In the wild

The

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

(also known as the ermine or the short-tailed weasel) reputedly mesmerises prey such as rabbits by a "dance" (sometimes called the weasel war dance), though this behaviour could be linked to '' Skrjabingylus'' infections. In fact, all weasels, e.g., the

least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus ''Mustela,'' Family (biology), family Mustelidae and Order (biology), order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North Ame ...

, the European polecat, the steppe polecat, the

black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (''Mustela nigripes''), also known as the American polecatHeptner, V. G. (Vladimir Georgievich); Nasimovich, A. A; Bannikov, Andrei Grigorovich; Hoffmann, Robert S. (2001)''Mammals of the Soviet Union''Volume: v. 2, pt. 1 ...

, etc., dance when they have caught or killed their prey in the wild.

References

External links

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* {{Spoken Wikipedia, En-weasel war dance-article.ogg, date=2022-12-28 Ferrets Mammal behavior