The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

105
Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro,
Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal,
66) Mustela kathiah (Hodgson, 1835)
Common Names
Yellow-bellied Weasel (English); Kathia-nyal, Pitodar
Malsapro (Nepali)
Species Description
A chocolate brown medium sized weasel with a
sulphur-yellow belly. Its upper lip, chin and upper
throat are whitish and its long tail is the same colour
as its back.
Species Ecology
The habitat and ecology of the Yellow-bellied Weasel
is not well known. This is a hill-dwelling species,
found at elevations of 1,000 m to 2,000 m, using
hollows in logs, burrows or holes for shelter. This
species feeds on rats.
The reproductive behaviour of this species is not
well known.
Conservation Status
Global: Least Concern
National: Data Deficient
Rationale for assessment: There is insufficient
information available to make an accurate
assessment of the extinction risk of this species in
Nepal.
Legal Status
National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029
(1973). This species occurs within protected areas.
Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States,
Uzbekistan.
References
Suwal and Verheugt 1995, Martinoli et al. 2001, Purdey and Lawrence 2004, King 1983
(and references therein), Baral and Shah 2008.
References
Suwal and Verheugt 1995, Baral and Shah 2008
National Distribution
The Yellow-bellied Weasel occurs within and
between the protected areas of Annapurna
Conservation Area, Sagarmatha National Park and
Makalu Barun National Park.
Distribution outside Nepal
Bhutan, China, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand,
Viet Nam.