Interesting Mammal Sighting in Korea
I am an enthusiastic mammal-watcher, which is harder to be than a bird-watcher because mammals are more visually elusive. Tonight as I was walking through Yongji Park in Changwon, on the south coast of South Korea, I saw a mustelid mammal that might have been a feral ferret. But the coloration also matched the Siberian Weasel, which is indigenous to Korea although probably not common.
Now, a public park in Changwon would seem to be an unusual place to see this species, but the city is ringed by mountains which would be a more natural habitat for it — if it gets this far south; it is apparently more often encountered in North Korea. Does anyone have any ideas about this? Is it possible that I did see a Siberian Weasel? Or are feral ferrets sometimes sighted in Korean parks?
UPDATE: A respondent at Animal Rescue Korea said that she has seen similar mustelids on Jeju Island, which is off the south coast of South Korea. So if the Siberian Weasel occurs there, it would probably occur in the Changwon area as well. The coloration of the animal that I saw did not remind me of any domestic ferret I have ever seen. The only other wild weasels found in South Korea are the Least Weasel and the Mountain Weasel, which are smaller and do not look like the animal I saw.
April 28, 2011 at 2:22 pm
I understand that Siberian Weasels are quite common in South Korea. Even from Seoul and Busan. I saw one I think near Daejon
Jon
April 28, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Very typical Siberian weasel. They occur all the way down to Indochina, and are very common in many types of habitat.
April 29, 2011 at 1:21 am
I live in very urban Shanghai and have seen Siberian weasels on a number of occassions. They seem to do well in urban settings. My students and friends often talk about them raiding their pets’ food dishes and scurrying across the lawn…I see sign of them very often as well.
April 29, 2011 at 1:22 am
By the way – great shot!
April 29, 2011 at 10:00 am
Not my photo, I poached it off the Web.
Thanks for all the follow-up information, everyone. I think I can confirm my sighting as a Siberian Weasel. I’m pretty excited about it — there is not much mammal action around here. I’ve only seen Red Squirrels a couple of times locally.
Another respondent at Animal Rescue Korea has seen this weasel in a park in Seoul a few times.
May 5, 2011 at 1:42 am
I know what you mean about the lack of mammal activity in urban Asia… I was thrilled with the first sighting of the weasel myself….. In a year in China, I am still below 30 mammal species – something I could have done in a week in the states.
October 11, 2011 at 5:11 am
I just saw one today, here on Jeju Island. This is the second one, or could be the same, however the first sighting was 5 years ago, so maybe not. I assumed the first was an abandon pet. Anyway, I saw it last night as I was leaving the university and just a couple minutes ago, this afternoon. I was wondering what it was and came upon your article. So yes, there are some in Jeju.
May 28, 2012 at 5:30 am
I spotted one yesterday on the grounds of our apartment complex in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Two very curious cats were stalking him.