Vormela peregusna

The tiger weasel is generally about 120-400mm long, with a slender and uniform body, a short snout, oval ears, short and strong limbs, bare toe pads and palm pads on the soles of the feet, and longer and sharper front claws than the hind claws, and slightly curved. The tail is about half the length of the body.
The back of the tiger weasel is yellow-white, with many brown or pink-brown spots scattered around. The back of the body is densely spotted and darker in color. The head is dark brown from the snout to the ears, and there is a wide white stripe across the face, from the cheek above the eyes to the bottom of the ears to the throat, almost in the shape of a ring, but not connected. The upper and lower lips and forehead are white; there are slightly longer white hairs on the ears, and a small amount of brown needle hairs are mixed at the base of the ears. The nape and shoulders are light yellow, the throat, chest, abdomen and limbs are dark brown, and the rest are mixed with bro

The tiger weasel is distributed in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Georgia, Greece, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
In China, the tiger weasel is distributed in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other places.
The tiger weasel is a typical desert and semi-desert grassland animal, living in desert dunes, hard rocky wastelands or wetlands at an altitude of 1000-1300m.

The tiger weasel (scientific name: Vormela peregusna) is also known as the Marbled Polecat in English. There are 5 subspecies.

The tiger weasel is alert, fierce, has a keen sense of smell, poor vision, and can climb trees. In spring and summer, it likes to move at dawn and dusk and at night. They seldom leave their caves on rainy and snowy days. They usually move alone. Even if they go out in pairs, they are often seen scattered around. They can sit upright on their hind legs to eat. They move in groups in summer. When walking, they follow each other closely on the sand ridges, forming a straight line, bending their waists and backs to move forward quickly.

When the tiger weasel encounters pursuit and threats, it can quickly get into a nearby mouse hole or hiding place. When it cannot escape in time, it immediately turns its body direction, with its back raised high, its tail standing forward, and the hair peaks around its body erected, making the entire body outline suddenly larger. In addition, the animal's roar is short and rapid, showing a very ferocious appearance. At this time, it often actively attacks people or seeks opportunities to escape. Its scent glands can emit a strange and stinking smell.

The structure of the burrow of the tiger weasel is relatively simple, usually with 1-3 holes. The hole is round and smooth, with a diameter of about 10cm and a depth of 1-5m, or even longer. The depth of the hole varies depending on the size of the sand pile at the hole. There are many branching passages and "granaries" for storing food in the cave. Especially under the roots of purlins or wormwood, it is the place where the tiger weasel likes to nest the most. Usually, it often invades rat holes or other animal holes.

The food of the tiger weasel is relatively simple and pure. It mainly preys on various rodents in the desert, as well as lizards and birds in the desert. It especially likes to prey on jerboas and yellow rats at night. When hunting, it uses the method of digging holes to prey. It can dig dozens of holes in one night. The depth of the newly dug holes is about 30-40cm. The tiger weasel living near residential areas occasionally sneaks into indoor or warehouses to steal meat or prey on house mice. Before winter, the tiger weasel frequently catches jumping mice and yellow rats at night and stores them in caves for winter.

The tiger weasel goes into estrus around the beginning of spring, with a gestation period of about two months. It usually gives birth in late April, with 4-8 pups per litter. The newborn pups have obvious markings and are about 12 cm long. The lactation period is about one month. After 38-40 days, the pups open their eyes and follow their mothers out to hunt. After 61-68 days, they can leave their mothers and live independently.

The population of the tiger weasel is not scattered. The distribution of this species is limited to a very small area, especially in Russia. Due to the reduction of the habitat of the tiger weasel in some parts of Europe, its population has dropped significantly. The number of this species is also on a downward trend. In China, although the distribution area is vast, the population density of tiger weasels is low and the number has always been very rare.

Listed in the 2008 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1-Vulnerable (VU).

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