North American Weasel Working Group
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Projects

The primary goal of the Weasel Working Group it to improve monitoring of weasel species across North America.  To that end, we meet regularly to develop collaborative projects that improve our methods for detecting and studying weasels.

Winter 2022 Bait/Lure Trials

Project Duration: January - April 2022
Objective: Determine which lure is most effective and how much bait influences detection of weasels. 
Methods: 
We selected sites to deploy clusters of cameras where we though we were most likely to get a weasel detection (i.e., places where there are recent sightings of weasels).  The clustered design was chosen to evaluate if weasels are making a “choice” at a site among different bait/lure combinations.  Each camera/lure treatment within a cluster was between 4 -20 m apart, and we randomized which which 4 of the 6 treatments (see below) were deployed at a cluster such that only 2 lures are used at a single cluster.  Most sites were in different range states and ran ~3 clusters.  Cameras were deployed for at least 2 months between January - May (winter), with cameras and bait/lure refreshed every 2-4 weeks.

​At each camera, we placed bait/lure 30cm high on a tree or log (higher if needed due to snow).  Cameras were set on a tree within 1.5-2m of the bait/lure, and set to record video.   The 6 bait/lure treatments were: 
  1. Weasel gland lure
  2. Weasel gland lure + Ground up mouse (bait)
  3. Salmon oil
  4. Salmon oil + Ground up mouse (bait)
  5. Anise oil
  6. Anise oil + Ground up mouse (bait)

At each baited treatment we applied 2 tablespoons/golf ball of ground up mouse secured to a tree in either a (1) perforated film canister (separate from lure canister), or (2) with hardware cloth or metal cage. 
​
Results:
  • 8 States involved, 13 Universities and Agencies, 57 camera clusters, 384 cameras
  • 43 weasel detections and 22 different cameras
    • 39 long-tailed
    • 3 short-tailed
    • 1 least
  • At least 1 weasel detection occurred in each range state: MN (2), OH (18), IN (1), NY (7), NC (10), SC (1), SD (1), VA (3)
  • Of the 43 detections...
    • 31/43 or 72% had salmon oil
    • 6/43 or 14% had anise oil
    • 3/43 or 7% had weasel gland (allcall)
    • 18/43 or 42% had mouse bait + a lure
  • Of the 22 cameras with a detection...
    • 14/22 or 64% had salmon oil
    • 3/22 or 14% had anise oil
    • 5/22 or 23% had weasel gland lure (all call)
    • 12/22 or 55% had ground up mouse + a lure
  • Salmon oil overall was most visited
    • Nearly the same number of detections were reported on salmon oil only (16) and salmon oil with mouse bait (15)
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