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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

baby badgers?

Animals of Farthing Wood! God I loved that book.

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

Yes. Stretch a hamster and you have a weasel.

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.

Weasels are like a hairy hot dog sausage.

With legs obviously.

stretch a hamster and you'll have a prison sentence

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

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?

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

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

And EVERYTHING pisses of badgers.

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?

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

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.

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