Yellow-bellied weasel

The yellow-bellied weasel, Mustela kathiah, is a weasel that inhabits pine forests in central and eastern Asia. It is named for its yellow underbelly, while the upperside of the body and the tail are dark brown. The body is 25 to 27 centimetres long and the tail, of 12 to 15 centimetres, is about half as long as the body. Two subspecies are recognized, Mustela kathiah caporiaccoi and Mustela kathiah kathiah. It occurs in Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, in forested habitats at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 metres, and moves down to lower elevations in winter. Yellow-bellied weasels eat birds, mice, rats, voles and other small mammals. They first build a den in the ground and breed annually, mating in late spring or early summer; the female is pregnant for about ten months and gives birth to 3 to 18 kits in April or May, and by eight weeks of age the kits are ready to hunt on their own.