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Yes You Were Wielding A Weasel, Cops Tell Suspect

An American mink.
Peter Trimming
/
via Flicker
An American mink.

Heard the one about the guy who assaulted his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend while wielding what he insisted was a marten — NOT a weasel?

It's become a hot story across the nation because the victim supposedly asked "why are you carrying a weasel?" To which the suspect replied, "it's not a weasel, it's a marten," and then allegedly punched the guy in the nose (with his hand, not the weasel ... err, mink).

Well, now the cops say the suspect actually was carrying a weasel — albeit one with some panache.

A marten.
/ gainesp2003 via Flickr
/
gainesp2003 via Flickr
A marten.

First off, as KXRO Newsradio ("The Harbor's Choice for News, Sports and Weather) reports from Hoquiam, Wash.:

"The 33-year-old suspect in an assault that made national news by holding a dead marten while striking a man in the face is no naturalist. Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers says the weasel-like animal the man was holding during Monday night's assault was actually a mink, also a member of the weasel family."

It seems, though, that even if the alleged assailant had a marten he still could have been accused of assault with a deadly weasel.

According to this entry at the National Wildlife Federation's website:

"You may encounter mink almost anywhere in North America — only the southwestern deserts and high Arctic tundra lack them. These members of the weasel family — which also includes otters, martens, skunks, fishers, wolverines and badgers — are seldom far from water."

We'll watch to see if the suspect weasels out of this one.

Meanwhile, if you think someone's going to be coming at you with a dead marten or mink, here is a printable field guide to help tell the difference, courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Just click on "Field Guide":

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.