Concerned resident captures 'reclusive' animal on camera in local parking lot: 'Is this creature missing its family?'

One Pennsylvania woman filmed a rare suburban encounter with a wild animal that officials warned to view at a distance. 

What's happening?

Pennsylvania resident Erin Cerase posted a video of a wild weasel scurrying across the parking lot of her local Italian restaurant on Feb. 25. 

"Is this creature missing its family? Or is it wildlife? It ran right up to me," Cerase posted alongside a video in her community Facebook group. 

Lieutenant Aaron Morrow, a supervisor at the Northeast Regional Pennsylvania Game Commission, told WNEP that the animal is "pretty reclusive."

"They are observed if you do go out and into the wild, into the woods of Pennsylvania. But typically, weasels are going to be spotted along creek beds in marshy locations," Morrow said.

They aren't commonly found near parking lots. However, Morrow said the Italian restaurant's property is near a stream, which is likely how the weasel made its way to Cerase's path.

Why is it important to pay attention to wild weasels?

As humans develop near wildlife habitats, it's common for people to see wild animals they don't typically see in their communities. This can lead to dangerous situations for people and animals. 

Weasels in northeastern Pennsylvania often hang around backyard chicken coops looking for food, according to the Northeast Regional Pennsylvania Game Commission. 

"Like any wild animal, they're going to try to get away from you if you try to touch them, you risk of being scratched, you risk of being bitten," said Morrow.

Our habits can also have severe consequences on animals' evolutionary responses. For example, greenhouse gas pollution is overheating the planet and causing warmer winters. 

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This can be a problem for an animal like the wild weasel because it camouflages itself based on the season. 

Warmer winters have led to weasels having mismatched coats to the weather, which leaves them vulnerable to predators, according to one study in the journal Scientific Reports.

What's being done about protecting wild weasels and people?

Local officials urged people not to approach wild weasels to protect them and Pennsylvania residents. 

It's also important to do our part to protect the environment to help preserve the livelihoods of wild animals like weasels. 

Environmental education is the first step in making smart decisions for yourself and the planet. Reducing our output of air pollution and lowering the volume of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere can slow the warming of the planet — and hopefully contribute to something as often-overlooked as protecting weasels' camouflaging capabilities, along with a whole lot more.

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