A weasel in the rocks

It has been about 15 years since I last saw a weasel in the wild. So it was excited, and a little astonished, when this fellow in his winter coat watched me from rocks laid out on the edge of the forest in Bragg Creek a couple of days ago.

The black tip on the tail identifies this as a least weasel. The gender is undetermined but, for no particular (nor accurate!) reason, I felt like this one was a he.

He bounded along the top of the rocks and darted between the gaps. The speed and dexterity of the Mustelidae family to which it belongs on display. He stopped with every noise from the forest and kept an eye on me. I stayed in one spot and was happy to spend several minutes watching him traverse around the boulders.