Weasel war dance
domestic ferret
in mid-leapThe weasel war dance is a colloquial term for the behavior of excited
ferrets and other members of the weasel subfamily. Naturalists speculate that weasels in the wild use the dance to confuse or disorient prey.[1]
In domestic ferrets
 | This section possibly contains original research. (October 2018) |
In
domestic ferrets the war dance usually follows play or the successful capture of a toy or a stolen object. The war dance is commonly held to mean that the ferret is thoroughly enjoying itself.[citation needed
]
The behavior consists of a frenzied series of hops sideways and backwards, often accompanied by an arched back and a frizzed-out
better source needed
]
The war dance usually includes a clucking vocalization, known among domestic ferret owners as "dooking". It normally indicates happiness. Although the war dance may make a ferret appear frightened or angry, they are often just excited and are generally harmless to humans.
In the wild
The
, etc., dance when they've caught or killed their prey in the wild.References
- ISBN 9780198041139– via Google Books.
- ISBN 9780596554712. Retrieved 9 June 2011 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-906282-65-6.
External links
- Ferret doing war dance in snow (video). Archived from the original on 2021-12-12 – via YouTube.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Pet weasel doing war dance against fur garment (video) – via YouTube.
- Wild stoat performing a war dance while hunting rabbits (video). National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.
