The Chinese proverb "the weasel pays respect to the hen without the best of intentions" became all too real with the arrival of the Year of the Rooster. Recently, a picture of a "Siberian weasel" paying New Year respects to a hen went viral during the Chinese New Year holiday. However, the "Siberian weasel" in the picture was not Siberian, said an expert.

"The animal in the picture is not a Siberian weasel. It's a least weasel," said Dr. Zhang Jinshuo, who works at the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that Siberian weasels are larger than least weasels. According to Zhang, the main difference between the two is that Siberian weasels have a pale back and belly and a black face.

Zhang also noted the proverb and pointed out that weasels do not usually eat chickens. Typically, they eat other small animals like rats. He said weasels only attack chickens and other domestic fowl when they are starving and no other food source can be found.