Rarely Seen and 'Reclusive' Animal Caught on Camera in Pennsylvania Parking Lot: 'It Ran Right Up to Me'

A rarely spotted critter was recently caught on camera in a Pennsylvania parking lot.

Last month, Pennsylvania resident Erin Cerase spotted a small, white creature hopping around. Unable to identify the animal — and wondering if it was someone’s escaped pet — she shared a video of it on social media.

On Feb. 25, Cerase posted a five-second clip of the tiny creature bounding across a parking lot in the borough of Dallas on The Back Mountain Community Page, a Facebook group dedicated to the titular Pennsylvania region.

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Alongside the footage, which was captured near Leggio's Italian Restaurant, Cerase asked community members to weigh in. “Is this creature missing [its] family? Or is it wildlife?” she asked, noting that “it ran right up to me.”

In the comments of the video, which has since amassed more than 50,000 views, people shared their theories, including several who said the animal looked like a ferret and others who speculated that it was a pet on the loose.

Others, meanwhile, took notice of the speedy critter’s unique shape and coloring, and correctly identified it as an ermine. But the ferret guesses weren’t too far off, as ermines — also known as stoats or short-tailed weasels — along with badgers and otters, are members of the mustelid family.

“It's not a ferret, no,” Lieutenant Aaron Morrow, the supervisor at the Northeast Regional Pennsylvania Game Commission office, said in an interview with local Pennsylvania outlet WNEP.

Putting online theories about the mysterious mustelid to rest, Morrow told WNEP that the critter Cerase captured on camera is actually a weasel, “which is common here in Pennsylvania.”

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Despite this, however, they are rarely caught on camera — a fact evidenced by the jealousy-tinged comments section of Cerase’s clip.

“I’m just here to say I’ve been trying to photograph one of these for 15 years at our house! This is amazing!” one user commented, while another said, “Very lucky find!!”

According to Morrow, the wild weasels that live in the region “are pretty reclusive” but can be observed in “backyard chicken coops” and out in the wild, specifically wooded areas of Pennsylvania. “But typically, weasels are going to be spotted along creek beds in marshy locations,” the Game Commission supervisor added.

Notably, parking lots are not among the animal's typical hangouts — but Leggio's, where Cerase spotted the scurrying stoat, is located near a stream, according to WNEP.

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“The only Pennsylvania animals to turn white in winter,” ermines are currently recognizable from their snowy fur and black-tipped tail — the same coloring on the mustelid Cerase spotted — per the Pennsylvania Game Commission. If you spot the black and white carnivores out and about — whether it’s in the forest or a restaurant parking lot — steer clear, Morrow advised.

Like “any wild animal, they're going to try to get away from you,” the wildlife expert told WNEP, noting that if you attempt to touch a stoat, you risk being scratched or bitten — and the mustelids do have a chance of carrying rabies.

“So really, any species of wildlife, we urge the public, if you do see it, enjoy it, observe it from a distance,” Morrow added, “but you definitely do not want to approach it or try to pet it or try to pick it up in any way, shape or form.”

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