# Stoat (*Mustela erminea*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/stoat  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 110.3 g – 324 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Height | 17 cm – 32.5 cm |
| Lifespan | 5 years – 12.5 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | arvicola amphibius, european hamster, ochotona, poponejo |
| Habitat | forest, shrubland |
| Gestation | 43.3 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 8 |
| Age at maturity | 3.12 months – 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Mustelidae
- genus: Mustela
- species: *Mustela erminea* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Mustela kanei*, *Mustela palerminea*

## Countries on record

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.

Australia

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Stoat (Mustela erminea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/stoat