Relationship with People
Last Review/Updated: May 31, 2002
The skill and ferocity weasels display while hunting has earned the respect of many people. The Inuit believed the weasel's skin possessed spiritual powers and their hunters carried these skins in the hope of greater success. Inuit also called the wolverine "Ke-wa-Kees" or "Evil One." They believed he possessed the soul of an Inuit hunter damned to plunder the traplines of other hunters.
Otters
were kept by King James I of England to fish for his supper, and a
"Keeper of the King's Otters" was appointed to tend them.
The members of the weasel family are highly prized for their pelts. The winter pelt of the short-tailed weasel (ermine) has long been associated with royalty. It was the fur trade which originally brought Europeans to western Canada and many of the early trading posts gave rise to our towns and cities. Fur garments are still in demand today and trapping of wild populations remains an important part of Alberta's economy. Today, thousands of mink are raised in captivity and mink farms are found throughout Alberta, particularly where a food supply, usually fish, is abundant.
Some weasel species are considered pests by farmers. Skunks and weasels are often attracted to farm buildings where they find shelter and ample food in the form of mice and other rodents. Though often accused of hen house raids and considered as vermin, their beneficial role in pest control far outweighs the damage they cause by eating a few chickens or eggs.
Skunks are commonly involved in the spread of rabies. Research and control of skunk populations is an important part of the wildlife management program of the Fish and Wildlife Division.
One member of the weasel family could not coexist with early agricultural practices in Alberta. The black-footed ferret has specialized requirements for its life style and depends on prairie dog colonies for both food and shelter. The disappearance of prairie dog colonies in southern Alberta, as a result of poisoning and other agricultural activities early in this century, led to the extirpation (local extinction) of the black-footed ferret in our province.
