I really struggle to get my head round weasels

[HoneyDragon]

I've seen them. I know what they look like, and often catch them whizzing across the road at weasel warp speed.

But their size always surprises me. Every time. I know they are small. But when you look at a picture of a weasel or think weasel, you think bigger. You don't think "oh, a weasel. That's a little bigger than a hamster that is". Or I don't. I go, ooooh a weasel. Wow, it's tiny, every time, the surprise never abates.

I struggle with weasel physics. That the actual weasel is not the size of the concept of weasel in my head.

I'm not sure how to fix it.

[BadgersRetreat]

i have seen giraffes in the wild though, and they are ridiculously tall

[500internalerror]

Weasels ate about the size of cats. Aren't they?

[HoneyDragon]

I've seen badgers, and baby badgers. They were all badger sized so no lasting trauma.

I am rather lucky. I used to work in a barn in a forest in a field. Lots of wild life.

[balia]

It's because of the wind in the willows that the confusion arises - they are clearly not to scale. And the animals of farthing wood. Great massive mutant weasels.

[HoneyDragon]

No. But weasels SHOULD be the size of cats. Someone should tell them.

[Salmotrutta]

Weasels are sooooo not the size of cats 500!

They are small and elfin. About the size of a very, very long thin tiny thing.

[HoneyDragon]

They are hairy so you don't eat them MrsW. Clearly you are more receptive so just run away screaming at them, rather than taste and spit.

I shall now always think of caterpillars as wiggy though

[BadgersRetreat]

baby badgers?

[GobblersKnob]

Animals of Farthing Wood! God I loved that book.

Have it somewhere, must read it to the dc's.

[HoneyDragon]

Yes. Stretch a hamster and you have a weasel.

[quoteunquote]

Pop goes the weasel, means, taking your iron to the pawn shop.

They keep the rabbit population down so we need as many as we can get.

[GobblersKnob]

Weasels are like a hairy hot dog sausage.

With legs obviously.

[BadgersRetreat]

stretch a hamster and you'll have a prison sentence

[SummerRainIsADistantMemory]

I live in Ireland which is totally free of weasels.

Stoats are common though.

I like stoats, they run really funkily

We have lots of badgers though... Did you know they're part of the weasel family because I didn't til recently

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I love MN.

I saw the title, thought 'mmm, I always think they are bigger than they are, I blame Farthing Wood', and I clicked the link to see what you were on about.

Does this mean I've basically internalized Mumsnet?

[Salmotrutta]

Stretch a hamster for a very long time and you have a weasel.

[HoneyDragon]

Yes, baby badgers . But from a distance, pissed off badgers are scary.

And EVERYTHING pisses of badgers.

[Hassled]

This thread has baffled me. Weasels are the size of cats, aren't they? You're messing with my head.

I'm not convinced that badgers actually exist. I have never seen a badger, and nor has any member of my immediate family. Nor any of my friends. People talk about badgers, and film dodgy looking animals in blurry night-vision (so they could be anything, frankly) claiming that they're badgers, but who has actually touched one?

[HoneyDragon]

Obviously I am neither suggesting or condoning the stretching of hamsters.

[Badgerwife]

Now I'm confused. Don't people have weasels as pets and keep them on a leash? Are they not like small cats then?

I've seen a few dead badgers. They're always bigger than I think they're going to be.

[HoneyDragon]

Never ever ever ever ever try to touch a badger. Unless you have a really good reason to rid yourself of an extremity.