Rhode Island mammals

Long-tailed Weasel in Rhode Island

Neogale frenata

Native to Rhode Island S4 Apparently Secure in Rhode Island

Not listed as nonindigenous in Rhode Island by USGS NAS; native to its Rhode Island range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: benjchristensen · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert in grass with its black-tipped tail curled behind it, Sonoma County, CaliforniaPhoto: Jay Paroline · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel pausing at the edge of a paved trail beside tall grass, San Francisco, CaliforniaPhoto: Bernie Paquette · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel peering over a log, showing its cream underside and brown crown, VermontPhoto: johnyochum · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel with a bridled black-and-white facial mask peering through a gap in deck boards, TexasPhoto: Bob Nieman · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert among limestone rocks, New Mexico

Photo: benjchristensen · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert in grass with its black-tipped tail curled behind it, Sonoma County, CaliforniaPhoto: Jay Paroline · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel pausing at the edge of a paved trail beside tall grass, San Francisco, CaliforniaPhoto: Bernie Paquette · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel peering over a log, showing its cream underside and brown crown, VermontPhoto: johnyochum · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel with a bridled black-and-white facial mask peering through a gap in deck boards, TexasPhoto: Bob Nieman · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed weasel standing alert among limestone rocks, New Mexico

Long-tailed Weasel in Rhode Island, by the numbers

Occasional in Rhode Island 48th most recorded of 72 mammals logged in Rhode Island

17 occurrence records

8 with iNaturalist photos

Jul 24, 2023 Last seen in Rhode Island

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Long-tailed Weasel in Rhode Island

Most sightings fall in July to August.

17 Rhode Island occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Rhode Island records (table)

Month	Records
January	1
February	0
March	0
April	0
May	1
June	0
July	4
August	3
September	2
October	0
November	2
December	4

Monthly long-tailed weasel occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Rhode Island, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Rhode Island, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August, with a smaller rise in December.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Weasel has been recorded in Rhode Island

17 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

17 Rhode Island records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Quick/Goose	1

Protected places with the most long-tailed weasel sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Rhode Island

County	Records
Washington County	9
Providence County	4
Kent County	3
Newport County	1

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 Rhode Island counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Long-tailed weasels rack up 94 records in Rhode Island, but the overwhelming majority, 93 of the 94, come from GBIF rather than iNaturalist, meaning most of what’s known here traces back to trapping and specimen data rather than people spotting the animal itself. NatureServe rates the state population S4, apparently secure, a healthier read than the “rare” bucket label above suggests. That bucket reflects this species’ occurrence-count ranking relative to other Rhode Island mammals, not real scarcity.

Records appear in every month, with a sharp March peak (15) and a near-absence in October (just 1), a pattern that likely tracks trapping-season timing as much as the weasel’s own activity given how record-heavy the GBIF side is.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

Full species profile Long-tailed Weasel Neogale frenata Size 24.8 cm9.8 in Weight 170 g6 oz Lifespan Up to 8.8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Rhode Island in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"