In nature, white can be worn in winter, Fashion trend more evident in northern region

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Michael Runtz

EMC Lifestyle - Having been unaware of fashion trends, I was surprised to learn that there was a dress code for the seasons.

Black is apparently okay to wear year-round, but white cannot be worn past Labour Day and neither can it be donned before the U.S. Memorial Day. Thus, for any fashion-conscious person, white is a "no-no" for winter.

Obviously wild animals are not aware of this fashion dictate, especially in northern regions. Arctic Fox, Willow Ptarmigan and Arctic Hare are white at this time of year.

In a previous column, I discussed how due to hollow spaces in hairs and feathers, white is the warmest colour, especially where wind is a factor.

Locally, three animals turn white just for winter. Snowshoe Hares are one.

The other two are hunters: Long-tailed and Short-tailed weasels both shed their coats of brown in exchange for one of white.

Apart from size, the two species are near identical in winter, but a large male Short-tailed Weasel (the smaller of the two) can approach the size of a female Long-tailed Weasel.

Both species are fully white and sport beady black eyes and a black tip to their tail. The black tip is an interesting anomaly and has been the source of much speculation. If camouflage was the main reason for the white pelage, then the tail tip, logically, should be white too. However, it is not.

One reasonable theory is that if a larger predator should try to catch a white weasel, the black tip might become its target, allowing the weasel to escape.

I have received reports of both weasels this winter.

Mary and Joanna Jack were taking part in the Pakenham-Arnprior Christmas Bird Count when they came across a Flying Squirrel sitting motionless against a tree trunk.

Curious about seeing a nocturnal animal out in daylight hours, they looked around for an answer.

To their amazement on the adjacent tree sat a white Long-tailed Weasel, which was obviously responsible for the eviction of the squirrel from its tree cavity. To see either of these two animals is not a common event, but to witness both at one time during the day is exceedingly rare.

midnight commotion

Years ago, I heard a Red Squirrel creating quite a commotion near midnight. A street light allowed me to find it clinging to the trunk of a White Pine with a Long-tailed Weasel attached to the opposite side of the same tree.

Whenever the weasel made a dash around the trunk, the squirrel made a counter move and climbed higher.

Eventually, the squirrel made a dash along a high branch and leapt to the next pine. The weasel followed, hot on its tail.

Quickly, both were out of sight and the conclusion to the chase went unobserved.

It might seem surprising that weasels climb trees. In fact, many species, including the much larger Pine Marten and Fisher, spend a lot of time off the ground.

These species, however, obviously know the rules of fashion. They wear brown in winter!

The Nature Number is 613-387-2503, email is mruntz@start.ca.