CreatureData

Stoat

Mustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernmammals

The stoat (Mustela erminea), also called the ermine, is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae in the order Carnivora. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial carnivore of forest and shrubland whose main foods are arvicola amphibius, european hamster, ochotona and poponejo.

Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Photo: Marton Berntsen , crop by User:MPF · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the stoat

Adults weigh from 110.3 to 324 g and measure from 17 to 32.5 cm in height, and reported lifespans run from 5 to 12.5 years. It has 1 litter per year of 4 to 8 young after a gestation period of 43 days, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

Weight
110.3 g – 324 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Height
17 cm – 32.5 cmsrc for Height
Lifespan
5 years – 12.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
arvicola amphibius, european hamster, ochotona, poponejosrc for Main food
Habitat
forest, shrublandsrc for Habitat
Gestation
43.3 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
4 – 8src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3.12 months – 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

How big is the stoat?

STOAT · HEIGHT 32.5 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 32.5 cm, the recorded maximum height of the stoat is about 19% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the stoat

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Сергій Марков · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Rem.photographer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Henk Monster · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Henk Monster · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Mariandrea2 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stoat (Mustela erminea)
Bildflut · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the stoat live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The stoat is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the stoat?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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 the IUCN Red List. The name ermine () is used especially in its pure white winter coat of the stoat or its fur. Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the United Kingdom House of Lords. It was also used in capes on images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague.

The stoat was introduced into New Zealand in the late 19th century to control rabbits. However, they have had a devastating effect on native bird populations; as such, the species was nominated as one of the world's top 100 "worst invaders".

From the Wikipedia article “Stoat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stoat&oldid=1384836393), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the stoat endangered?

The stoat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the stoat classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyMustelidae
  6. genusMustela
  7. SpeciesMustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Mustela kanei, Mustela palerminea

Other names and names in other languages (99)
  • ᲧარყუმიEnglish
  • Beringian ermineEnglish
  • Beringian stoatEnglish
  • ErmineEnglish
  • Eurasian stoatEnglish
  • Short-tailed weaselEnglish
  • HermelynAfrikaans
  • ウパㇲ チロンヌㇷ゚Ainu
  • قاقمArabic
  • قاقومArabic
  • ابن عرس قصير الذيلArabic
  • ArminioAragonese
  • PapalbinaAsturian
  • موستلا رمیناazb
  • АҫBashkir
  • ГарнастайBelarusian
  • ХермелинBulgarian
  • ErminigBreton
  • ErminiCatalan
  • ЮсChuvash
  • hranostajCzech
  • Lasice hranostajCzech
  • CarlwmWelsh
  • CarlymodWelsh
  • LækatDanish
  • HermelinDanish
  • Großes WieselGerman
  • KurzschwanzwieselGerman
  • ΕρμίναGreek
  • ErmenoEsperanto
  • ArmiñoSpanish
  • kärpEstonian
  • Erbinude zuriBasque
  • kärppäFinnish
  • RoysikøtturFaroese
  • hermineFrench
  • Hermine d'EuropeFrench
  • HermeliinNorthern Frisian
  • HarmelingWestern Frisian
  • EasógIrish
  • neasScottish Gaelic
  • Neas mhòrScottish Gaelic
  • neasanScottish Gaelic
  • niosScottish Gaelic
  • AssagManx
  • הרמיןHebrew
  • ErminoIdo
  • ItiġiaqInupiaq
  • HreysikötturIcelandic
  • ErmellinoItalian
  • オコジョJapanese
  • ヤマイタチJapanese
  • ukaliatsiaqKalaallisut
  • Ужьэ кӏэ кӏыхьKabardian
  • Сосkca
  • АқкісKazakh
  • 산족제비Korean
  • 북방족제비Korean
  • ЧужмӧрKomi-Permyak
  • СьӧдбӧжKomi
  • BanevankKurdish
  • АрысKyrgyz
  • Grousst WiselLuxembourgish
  • ŠermuonėlisLithuanian
  • SermulisLatvian
  • ЙосMari
  • ToriuraMāori
  • Голема ласицаMacedonian
  • ҮенMongolian
  • Tsagaan UenMongolian
  • မြွေပါဖြူBurmese
  • Dlǫ́ʼiiłgaiiNavajo
  • røyskattNorwegian Bokmål
  • बहुरुपी मलसाँप्रोNepali
  • HermelijnDutch
  • Grote wezelDutch
  • Gronostaj europejskiPolish
  • سٹوٹWestern Panjabi
  • ArminhoPortuguese
  • HerminăRomanian
  • HermelinăRomanian
  • КырынаасYakut
  • Stoat-wheaselScots
  • buoiddaNorthern Sami
  • lasica hranostajSlovak
  • Bukla e madheAlbanian
  • Велика ласицаSerbian
  • lekattSwedish
  • குறுவால் மரநாய்Tamil
  • АсTatar
  • เออร์มินThai
  • kakımTurkish
  • ӴӧжмерUdmurt
  • ئاق ئاغمىخانUyghur
  • ГорностайUkrainian
  • Por'moiVeps
  • Chồn ecminVietnamese
  • ErmineteWalloon
  • 白鼬Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the stoat

Other species in the same genus Mustela.

CompareStoat vs Least weaselStoat vs European polecatStoat vs European minkStoat vs Siberian weasel

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

How big is a stoat?

A stoat weighs from 110.3 to 324 g and measures from 17 to 32.5 cm in height. It falls in the small size class.

What does a stoat eat?

The stoat is a carnivore. Its main foods are arvicola amphibius, european hamster, ochotona and poponejo.

Is the stoat endangered?

No. The stoat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

How long does a stoat live?

Reported lifespans for the stoat run from 5 to 12.5 years, with a representative value of 11.14 years.

How many young does a stoat have?

A stoat has 4 to 8 young per litter and 1 litter per year. The gestation period is 43.26 days.

Which countries is the stoat recorded in?

Checklists record the stoat in Australia.

Who named the stoat?

The stoat was named Mustela erminea by Linnaeus, 1758.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Stoat (Mustela erminea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/stoat

MLA

“Stoat (Mustela erminea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/stoat.

BibTeX
@misc{stoat_2026,
  title = {Stoat (Mustela erminea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/stoat},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}