# Why do weasels have a bad reputation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277 "2015-05-04T22:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/21 "2015-05-05T13:52:43Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Pound for pound, Wolverines are the strongest mammal. > They can run a bear off his kill and a bear will not try steal a kill from a wolverine. > > Wolverines are the largest of the weasel family. IIRC > > Bad ass critters, don’t have any ‘back-up’ in them either. They’re still glad an ocean separates them from the honey badgers ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/22 "2015-05-05T13:56:05Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > … > Wolverines are the largest of the weasel family. IIRC > … Yes, it’s the largest mustelid. [Ernest Thompson Seton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Thompson_Seton) on the comparison: > [@](#): > > Picture a Weasel—and most of us can do that, for we have met that little demon of destruction, that small atom of insensate courage, that symbol of slaughter, sleeplessness, and tireless, incredible activity—picture that scrap of demoniac fury, multiply that mite some fifty times, and you have the likeness of a Wolverine. The only member of the family that people usually think of pleasantly is the otter - otherwise, we have weasels, ferrets (aka polecats), stoats, ermines, minks, fishers, martens, badgers, wolverines … what a family … well, a couple of 'em have nice fur, and badgers can be anthropomorphised into gruff but good guy characters in children’s literature sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/23 "2015-05-05T14:20:01Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Weasels Ripped My Flesh!:rolleyes: [Needs a visual.](http://leskeud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ZPCD112.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/24 "2015-05-05T15:36:36Z")
[“A little feisty, isn’t he? That’s why they call 'em weasels!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl1jRTWw94s) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/25 "2015-05-05T15:52:22Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Lets see what the[ancient and medieval world](http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast150.htm) said about weasels: > > > [@](#): > > > > The weasel is the enemy of the basilisk and is the only animal that can kill one. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT J.K. ROWLING MISSED TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/26 "2015-05-05T16:15:43Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT J.K. ROWLING MISSED TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS. 😕 Well, Walter Wangerin picked up on it in [The Book of the Dun Cow](http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Dun-Walter-Wangerin/dp/0060574607), the only beast epic or children’s story I can think of offhand with a weasel as a positive character rather than a villain. The 2003 date on that link is a reprinting, BTW. First publication was 1978. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/27 "2015-05-05T16:20:10Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Have you ever met a ferret? > > (Yes, I know, according to the official scientific taxonomy they are not that closely related to weasels. But to a casual observer they are similar). No mention yet of stoats. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/28 "2015-05-05T16:26:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No mention yet of stoats. See #22. BTW, ermine is another name for a stoat, often particularly for the animal in its winter phase with a white coat, so I was being redundant. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/29 "2015-05-05T16:28:52Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > The only member of the family that people usually think of pleasantly is the otter What, the mustelid that [rapes baby seals _to death_](http://news.discovery.com/animals/the-other-side-of-otters.htm)\* and then keeps the corpse around for days for necrophiliac purposes? _Those_ otters? Not so pleasantly, no. Freshwater otters seem to be OK, though … as far as we know :dubious: \*While drowning during the rape is a frequent cause of death the physical injuries sustained are also pretty horrific (and very similar to some traumas I’ve only read about in the context of wartime gangrape) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/30 "2015-05-05T16:32:24Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > See #22. BTW, ermine is another name for a stoat, often particularly for the animal in its winter phase with a white coat, so I was being redundant. Thank you for admitting your redundancy instead of trying to stoat your way out of it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/31 "2015-05-05T16:33:43Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > See #22. BTW, ermine is another name for a stoat, often particularly for the animal in its winter phase with a white coat, so I was being redundant. Dayum. I bow to the weasel king.😃 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/32 "2015-05-05T16:41:05Z")
Ferrets are useful too: > [@](#): > > Felicia the Fermilab Ferret cleaned 300-foot (91.44-meter) pipes in particle accelerators at the National Accelerator Laboratory. Specifically, Felicia pulled a string through 12-inch (30-centimeter) wide tubes to clean out any steel particles that might interfere with the accelerator’s process. After Felicia made her runs, workers attached a cleaning swab to her string, pulling it through to finish the job. > [Listen to the Best Podcasts & Shows Online, Free | iHeart](http://www.geniusstuff.com/blog/business-ferrets/) > [@](#): > > Ferrets have a long history of assisting humans with everything from animal control to bomb disposal. These clever, persistent little risk takers make perfect companions for their industrious owners. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/33 "2015-05-05T16:41:16Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Well, Walter Wangerin picked up on it in [The Book of the Dun Cow](http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Dun-Walter-Wangerin/dp/0060574607), the only beast epic or children’s story I can think of offhand with a weasel as a positive character rather than a villain. The 2003 date on that link is a reprinting, BTW. First publication was 1978. Hmmm. I should have considered cartoons, come to think of it: [I Am Weasel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Weasel). ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/34 "2015-05-05T18:50:35Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Well, Walter Wangerin picked up on it in [The Book of the Dun Cow](http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Dun-Walter-Wangerin/dp/0060574607), the only beast epic or children’s story I can think of offhand with a weasel as a positive character rather than a villain. The 2003 date on that link is a reprinting, BTW. First publication was 1978. Also I recall **[Antony Armstrong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Armstrong_%28writer%29)** detailing collecting a weasel for this in one or more of his fairy tales for grown-ups — not very sweet, and with the oddest type of Dunsanyesque illustrations — prolly in Punch of the 1920s or '30s, from **The Prince Who Hiccupped.** Not having a copy near nor remembering his name, I had to google. I think there was some mix-up between a Basilisk and a Cockatrice, hatched from an egg. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/35 "2015-05-05T18:55:20Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Ferrets are useful too: > > > [@](#): > > > > Ferrets have a long history of assisting humans with everything from animal control to bomb disposal. These clever, persistent little risk takers make perfect companions for their industrious owners. And off course, one of the more recondite pleasures of the rural class is to shove a ferret down a trouser-leg, to test one’s endurance. I really don’t think a weasel is interchangeable in this case. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/36 "2015-05-05T19:04:09Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Ferrets are useful too: Alas, not everyone holds ferrets in such high regard: > [@World Champion Ferret-Legger Reg Mellor](#): > > Reg Mellor, a man who has been more intimate with ferrets than many men have been with their wives, calls ferrets “cannibals, things that live only to kill, that’ll eat your eyes out to get at your brain” at their worst, and “untrustworthy” at their very best. But he [stuffs the ferrets](http://nypost.com/2014/05/31/the-man-who-puts-vicious-ferrets-down-his-pants-for-hours/) into his pants for fun and profit, so I don’t know if he’s giving the critters a proper opportunity to be anything other then ill-tempered and sullen. ETA: ever-so-slightly ninja’d by **Claverhouse** ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/37 "2015-05-05T19:12:51Z")
So it isn’t just talk talk talk? Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/38 "2015-05-05T19:40:21Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Just to chance to throw out a bit of folk wisdom. > > Eagles may soar but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines. Hey, get your own tagline…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/39 "2015-05-05T19:45:02Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > And off course, one of the more recondite pleasures of the rural class is to shove a ferret down a trouser-leg, to test one’s endurance. > > I really don’t think a weasel is interchangeable in this case. Wouldn’t that depend on the size of the pants worn? I can think of a few young gadabouts who could stand to have a weasel stuffed in their pants… ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277/40 "2015-05-05T19:57:56Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > … > I think there was some mix-up between a Basilisk and a Cockatrice, hatched from an egg. Various sources disagree. Not all of them treat them as separate critters. Wangerin uses both terms in his book, for different threats to Chauntecleer’s kingdom. He actually uses “Cockatrice” as a proper name for the one cockatrice in the story. An army of “basilisks” are the offspring of Cockatrice. Given the uncertainty of the fables in the first place, Wangerin is probably in bounds for a fantasy novel. His weasel character is “John Wesley Weasel”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-weasels-have-a-bad-reputation/719277.md?page=3)