Stoats


Illustrator unknown, Japoro the ermine taken from the Shrine of Japoro.
All right, here is the one mustelid that causes the most confusion. The Stoat, like the Common Weasel, also lives in North America. Over here this weasel is called the Short-Tailed Weasel. It is characterized by being larger than the Least/Common weasel and by having a black tail-tip. I should note that these weasels, like the common weasel above, also change coats in the colder parts of their range, and appear white with a black tail-tip. In this coat stoats are given the special name of Ermine. The term Ermine is also used in North America. It should also be noted that in Britain, the term "stoat" almost always refers to the brown summer coat, and "ermine" to the white winter coat.
Many readers may note that in The Bellmaker, there are some creatures by the name of Dirgecallers. Now, the Dirgecallers are referred to as ermine. Why, you may be wondering, does BJ call them ermine, and all the others stoats? My only explanation is that Mustela erminea only changes coats in the coldest northern most parts of their range. Since, the Dirgecallers came from the "Far North", BJ may have wanted to distinguish these coat-changers from the non-coatchangers of the temperate Mossflower. One can assume therefore, that the "stoats" of Redwall do not change their coats, and are thus "stoats" year-round. Like the common/least weasels above, these mustelids were also considered to be separate species (Stoat in Europe and Short-Tailed Weasel in N.America) until DNA testing proved otherwise.