Walt Disney Productions: "The Weasel Family" (Nature's Living Album - 1968)

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:03][music] [bell] >> Or the largest with the small sinuous black-footed ferret, the pine martin who lives in the big trees, and the otter who spends most of his life in the water.

[00:00:24]The peace-loving plume-tailed skunk with his aggressive cousin, the handsome mink.

[00:00:30]All are equipped with strong-smelling musk glands.

[00:00:34]But the skunk is the real expert in chemical warfare.

[00:00:38]>> [music] >> Although normally good-natured, if annoyed by a neighbor such as the raccoon or otter, the skunk is capable of shooting a spray of foul-smelling fluid which never fails to clear everybody out of the area.

[00:00:57]The evil odor may linger in the air for several days.

[00:01:02]This family of striped skunks is on a field trip, and mother has been showing her youngsters likely places to find the insects, field mice, and eggs which comprise a large part of the skunk's normal diet.

[00:01:14]>> [music] [music] >> Well, there's got to be one on every field trip, the straggler.

[00:01:29]However, his gentle mother knows the art of friendly persuasion.

[00:01:35]>> [music] [music] >> The skunks spend the daylight hours sleeping.

[00:01:48]At dusk, they will set out again on another food-gathering expedition.

[00:01:53]You are very likely to see a skunk if you take an evening walk in most any rural wooded area of America.

[00:01:59]They learn to live very close to man.

[00:02:01]>> [music] >> Unlike the docile skunk, the weasel is a nervous, high-strung hunter.

[00:02:15]The young weasel must consume about half its own weight in food every day.

[00:02:21]>> [music] >> He is a useful friend to man when killing rats and mice, but an enemy when he steals eggs from game birds.

[00:02:44]Where snow covers the ground in winter, the weasel's fur undergoes a transformation to a white ermine coat.

[00:02:51]With his new camouflage, the weasel is perfectly suited to stalk his next victim, the snowshoe hare.

[00:03:00]>> [music] [music] >> The mink is the aristocrat of the weasel family.

[00:03:10]His rich, dark brown fur is one of the most sought after in the world today.

[00:03:14]He inhabits marshlands and wooded areas with streams, preying on small animals, birds, and fish.

[00:03:23]Among his relatives, the mink is second only to the otter in swimming ability.

[00:03:29]A thick undercoat of fur protects him from the cold water while he hunts muskrats and a variety of fish.

[00:03:51]Like others in the weasel tribe, the mink doesn't always eat his catch immediately, but often stores it in his den for the future.

[00:03:58]Active both day and night, the restless mink is equally at home on land or in the water.

[00:04:04]He finds his prey largely by scent and often will come across nesting waterfowl.

[00:04:11]If unsuccessful, the mink can always return to the unprotected nest and enjoy a dinner of duck eggs.

[00:04:20]He also has his problems, though, since he isn't the only local inhabitant who likes fresh eggs.

[00:04:28]It's estimated that perhaps 1 million mink are trapped in the wilds each year.

[00:04:32]However, the demand for mink coats far exceeds this supply.

[00:04:36]And so mink farming has become a thriving business with about 5,000 mink ranchers supplying [music] over 5 million pelts to furriers every year.

[00:04:48]The pine marten also is prized for his fur and raises his family in the high pine and spruce forests of Canada, Alaska, and the western United States.

[00:04:58]Because of many years of heavy trapping and forest fires, the marten population was greatly reduced.

[00:05:04]However, today most states have laws protecting them from hunters and trappers, and as a result, their numbers are slowly increasing.

[00:05:13]>> [music] >> Like all carnivores, the marten lives on fresh meat, and the red squirrel is number one on his diet.

[00:05:32]>> [music] [music] >> The marten's agility in the treetops is matched only by the squirrels.

[00:05:44]>> [music] [music] [music] >> The otter is more affectionate, playful, and fun-loving than any of his relatives.

[00:06:17]A litter of two or three pups is born in early spring, and for 5 or 6 weeks, they can only smell and feel the protective warmth of their mother.

[00:06:25]Then their eyes open, and they discover an exciting new world.

[00:06:30]>> [music] >> For nearly 3 months, the mother guards them closely, keeping even their father away.

[00:06:46]She spends hours teaching them the necessary skills of stalking, attacking, and wrestling.

[00:06:53]Soon, however, it's time for the most important lesson, how to swim.

[00:06:58]Strange, but true, the otter must learn to swim.

[00:07:03]However, once in the water, they catch on quickly.

[00:07:08]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The otter is the only member of the weasel family that is equipped with four webbed feet.

[00:07:49]Because of this, he spends most of his time in this fascinating water world.

[00:07:55]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> In the rivers and lakes, nature has provided an abundance of food.

[00:08:29]Whether it's salmon or trout, crayfish or frogs, the otter relishes them all.

[00:08:41]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Usually, the otter travels by water.

[00:09:09]However, he is very capable of covering short distances across dry land, especially if it leads to an afternoon of fun on the neighborhood mud slide.

[00:09:24]>> [music] >> It would be an unusual sight to see an otter alone.

[00:09:33]They usually live together in pairs or families, and obviously have a great affection for each other.

[00:09:39]>> [music] >> Many animals have look-alikes, but not the badger.

[00:09:48]>> [music] >> If there ever was a real earth mover in the animal kingdom, it's this bow-legged underslung denizen of the woods and plains.

[00:10:09]>> [music] >> The badger doesn't bother to chase gophers and ground squirrels.

[00:10:18]Instead, with uncanny accuracy, he locates them in their burrows, then rapidly digs down to catch them.

[00:10:26]>> [music] >> Although he lives in a world of predators, his enemies are few.

[00:10:32]>> [music] >> Even the coyote rarely attacks the badger because of its vicious teeth, sharp claws, and an extraordinary amount of raw courage.

[00:10:46]>> [music] >> The wolverine is about 50 times bigger than the weasel and just as savage.

[00:11:18]Almost anything, large or small, dead or alive, is fair game for this fellow.

[00:11:24]>> [music] >> He is always hungry and will apply his brute strength in order to invade the home of a tiny field mouse.

[00:11:34]>> [music] >> If a bigger meal presents itself, he's off.

[00:11:40]With a weird ape-like movement that the wolverine can maintain for a long distance, he eventually runs his exhausted prey to the ground.

[00:11:51]>> [music] [music] >> He is so antisocial, he has nothing to do with other wolverines except during the short spring MATING SEASON.

[00:12:23]>> [music] [music] >> THIS ANIMAL IS FEARLESS AND will not be run off by a pack of timber wolves.

[00:12:54]The wolverine is practically extinct in the United States.

[00:12:57]However, in remote areas of Canada and Alaska, he is still the devil of the north woods.

[00:13:04]>> [music] >> The black-footed ferret is probably the rarest mammal on the North American continent today.

[00:13:12]In fact, this film may be the last we will ever see of him.

[00:13:16]100 years ago, he inhabited the sweeping expanse of plains that covered much of America, preying upon the millions of prairie dogs whose burrows dotted the grasslands.

[00:13:31]>> [music] [music] >> Today, the ferret faces extinction because of the drive to exterminate prairie dogs, which have been a nuisance to farmers and ranchers for many years.

[00:13:49]>> [music] >> Recently, a few black-footed ferrets have been seen in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado, where they are protected by the Department of Fish and Wildlife Service.

[00:14:05]>> [music] [music] >> The ferret's slim body is the same diameter as the prairie dog's. Thus, he is perfectly adapted to hunting in the burrows of >> [music] >> And so, we've met the weasel family.

[00:14:50]They are all flesh or fish eaters.

[00:14:52]All are equipped with potent musk glands to use if annoyed or attacked.

[00:14:57]All have fine fur coats that are sought after by trappers.

[00:15:01]And they all perform a beneficial service to farmers and ranchers by killing countless numbers of crop-destroying rodents every year.

[00:15:09]But each of them has a definite personality and characteristics by which we can [music] remember them.

[00:15:15]The wolverine, strictly antisocial and always hungry. The mink, wears the most expensive coat in the family?

[00:15:22]The badger looks like a doormat.

[00:15:25]The skunk, a chemical warfare expert.

[00:15:28]The martin, he's agile as a squirrel.

[00:15:31]The otter, happiest swimmer in North America.

[00:15:35]The black-footed ferret loves prairie dogs.

[00:15:39]And the weasel wears his white coat in the wintertime.

[00:15:42]Yes, the weasel family is like every other family. It's full of characters and rugged individuals.

[00:15:52]>> [music]