LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 31 Ghosts of the Creek: Tracking the Elusive Ermine in the Adirondacks A flash of white crosses the snow and disappears before the eye can fully register it. The ermine, the short-tailed weasel, or stoat, is among the smallest mammalian carnivores in the Adirondacks, a predator so light and quick it often passes unnoticed. Many peo- ple spend decades in the Park without ever seeing one. Those who do often describe the experience less as an encounter than as a brief interruption — a reminder that something fast, watchful, and very much alive has just passed through. Some of the best chances to glimpse an ermine are found in the northern reaches of the Town of Ohio, within the Adirondack Park. Mixed hardwood forests give way to wetlands and winding creeks, creating cor- ridors rich with cover and prey. Cold Brook is a famil- iar landmark, though the village itself sits just outside ideal habitat. Nearby, Black Creek State Forest, with its quiet woods, saturated soils, and mouse-rich stream edges, offers particularly favorable conditions. This is not a place that announces itself. Like the er- mine, it rewards those willing to slow down. Fierce, Small, and Remarkably Agile Mustela erminea is a study in efficiency. Roughly chip- munk-sized but long and slender, it can slip into spaces no other predator can reach. Weighing less than half a pound, ermines routinely take prey close to their own size and, on occasion, larger — especially juvenile rab- bits or hares. "Ermines may be tiny, but they are fierce," shares An- gela K. Fuller, professor and unit leader at the USGS New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit By George Payne Photos provided by Ed Kanze Art created by John Muir Lewis

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