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A farmer from Bolivia filmed the Amazon weasel for the first time, expanding knowledge about its range and altitude. The Amazon weasel (Neogale africana) is a rare and little-studied predator of South America.
This species was described in 1818 from a museum specimen, mistaking it for African. Meetings with him are very rare, only 23 times in more than two centuries, of which only three - between 1990 and 2020.
In October 2023, farmer Einer Kispe recorded an Amazonian weasel on video on his coffee plantation at an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level. He noticed her near the spring when the animal was chasing a rodent. After several days of observation, Kispe took several more pictures and videos. Zoologists led by Jorge Salazar-Bravo from the Texas Tech University confirmed that the video shows an Amazonian weasel.
The find is significant because it extends the known range of the Amazon weasel to 900 kilometers south of its southernmost record in Peru and 1500 kilometers southeast of its record in Brazil. Previously, this species was found mainly in the lowlands, not higher than 300 meters above sea level. However, new evidence suggests that Amazonian weasels can live at altitudes of up to 1400 meters.
The Amazonian weasel has distinctive features such as a chestnut colored upper body and a yellowish throat and belly with a dark stripe down the middle, which allowed the researchers to accurately identify the species. Its closest relative, the long-tailed weasel (N. frenata), is much smaller and does not have such a stripe.
The team of zoologists hopes that further research into the hard-to-reach regions of South America and the use of the latest scientific methods, such as the analysis of exogenous DNA, will help to better understand the Amazonian weasels. This will make it possible to specify their range and number, as well as to develop measures for their protection. The Amazon weasel is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but some zoologists believe its conservation status needs to be reassessed.
