I hope our American readers are enjoying their long weekend. I want to thank all of you for taking the time out of your holiday to learn about a new animal. I promise you will be happy you did, as we are heading to South America to learn about a member of the weasel family, known as the Greater Grison. Although hunting has shown some negative signs towards their population, the Greater Grison is actually doing quite well. This should make it a little easier to spot one or two of these loveable animals during our trip…..but you may have to stay up late or get up very early, depending how you look at it.
Not Just a Carnivore
As I just alluded to, the Greater Grison tends to be a bit of a night owl…or night weasel, I guess. With that said, they have been known to go for an early morning walk, so you may just come across one if you can wake up with the sunrise. During the night, or early morning, the Grison is on the hunt for a variety of prey items including rodents, birds, amphibians, fish and occasionally fruit or seeds. I think they threw in those last two prey items because they didn’t want to be classified as a mean ol’ carnivore.
The End of the Gregarious Cycle
For the most part, the Greater Grison is a solitary creature, however, they will occasionally pair up. Let’s face it, life is better if you have someone to share it with, right? During mating season, this weasel doesn’t mind having company. In fact, they will typically look for several partners to spend time with throughout their breeding season. The gregarious behaviour of a solitary animal will come to an end in the fall, as the females give birth to 2-4 young during the month of October. Personally, I would want to have a friend helping me raise the kids but I guess the female Grison likes the challenge of raising children on her own.
Greater Grison Fast Fact
If you happen to know a little French then you may understand how the Greater Grison received their name. I guess it would also help if you knew the colour of this weasel. That’s right, their name is derived from the French word “Gris”, which means “Grey”. It may not be original but it is indeed accurate.
