Rare white-coated weasel spotted in eastern Turkey

By Haydar Toprakci</p> <p>TUNCELI, Turkey (AA) – A rare white-coated weasel was recently spotted in Turkey’s Tunceli province. </p> <p>Sidar San, 24, a local shopkeeper, captured images of the endangered weasel with his cell phone camera during a nature trip to Munzur Valley. </p> <p>The weasel is characterized by a long body with short legs. Its fur is dark brown in the summer and turns white during snowy weather. </p> <p> “I’ve captured images of this animal — which we’ve seen in nature for the first time and moves very fast — at my friend’s request,” said San, speaking to Anadolu Agency.</p> <p>“We could not understand what it was at first. We later learned that animal, which has a white coat, was a weasel.”</p> <p>San noted that it did not attempt to escape while he was taking its photo. </p> <p>“While we were gazing at it curiously, it posed for us instead of escaping. It was very cute.” </p> <p>Such weasels can be difficult to spot as they hide in the morning and hunt at night.</p> <p>“We were lucky. We both saw it and captured photos of it,&quot; he said, praising Tunceli province’s great diversity of plants and animals.</p> <p>“People in Tunceli province, particularly in the Munzur and Pulumur valleys, can capture images of many animals such as the Chevrotain [mouse deer], wolf, bear, pig, fox, sea otter and caracal with their cell phones, without any need for professional cameras. This shows our province’s diversity.”

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