My Love of Mustelidae

I've always believed that there is an animal for every human personality. Within the world of rodentia, we commonly find personalities befitting of the more curious or timid types--this being with some very notable exceptions (i.e. rats.) There is another class of people which is of a much darker nature. Many of them may even be villains such as thieves or brigands. They may also take the form of corrupt politicians and leaders. For this group, I nominate the prestigious family of mustelidae!

Weasels have had a major part in fiction and popular culture. We often call someone who is sneaky or untrustworthy a weasel. We often picture the creature sneaking about looking for a way to kill or steal something, and there is a very good reason why. These creatures really do tend to do that!

A weasel is a type of mustelid, and there are many others that belong to this family as you will later find out. I have for years now had a fascination with these creatures and have even written several stories about them. They tend to bring out my mischievousness and inspire me to create fun characters--often villains.

You may remember some mustelids from popular movies and books. Probably the most notable are the weasels from the movie "Who Frames Roger Rabbit." In a more recent film called "Wolfy: The Incredible Secret," some species of mustelids were used as spies and could be seen sneaking around in the dark.

The famous comic book series "Mouse Guard" has its share of weasels, and I must say that these particular characters are extremely well designed. I have always enjoyed the stories about them. Not as well known but still very important is the book series "The Welkin Weasels" by Gary Kilworth. This series really has done the most justice to the little guys. I recommend the books to anyone interested in seeing good fiction made in honor of mustelidae.

Over the next year, I will be telling you about many animals within the mustelidae family. I encourage you to open your mind to a dark and sinister world of a very sneaky group of carnivores. Mustelids are good for drawing out the dark side of one's imagination. You can't have everything candy and rainbows for life. A weasel would be the first to tell you that as well! By the end of it, I am sure that you will understand why I love them so much. Sometimes, it never hurts to indulge the imagination in darker things. After all, that's where all the most interesting villains come from.

Stay tuned for the new Mustelidae Spotlight! Be sure to comment below if you so desire, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Thanks for reading! :)