{"id":486376,"date":"2026-02-19T23:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/486376\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:31:12","slug":"meet-the-ermines-representing-alaska-at-the-2026-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/486376\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the ermines representing Alaska at the 2026 Winter Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – As fans cheer on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, Alaska has its own Olympic champion at The Alaska Zoo \u2013 the ermine. <\/p>\n

Ermines usually weigh two to six ounces. They can take down a rabbit, and they represent the 2026 Winter Olympics Official Mascot. <\/p>\n

\"JensJens Luraas Oftebro, of Norway, stands on the podium holding the Games mascot Tina after winning the gold medal in the nordic combined individual Gundersen large hill\/10km at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matthias Schrader)(Matthias Schrader | AP)\"FansFans cheer with the mascot prior to the team pursuit speedskating races at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)(Luca Bruno | AP)<\/p>\n

Meet Milli and Noob Noob \u2014 two ermines at the Alaska Zoo who are serving as Alaska\u2019s unofficial mascots for this Olympics. <\/p>\n

The Alaska Zoo has a history of Olympic champions, with polar bears competing in diving at the Summer Olympics. But this year\u2019s mascot is considerably smaller than a polar bear. <\/p>\n

Despite their tiny size, ermines have incisors that can kill. These small carnivores are native to Alaska. <\/p>\n

Annie Snow, a zookeeper at The Alaska Zoo said the two ermines couldn\u2019t be more different in personality. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they\u2019re out, they love to run around, explore. They have a ton of little hidey holes in here because they love to tunnel and burrow,\u201d Snow said. <\/p>\n

\u201cMilli\u2019s definitely the more outgoing, rambunctious. She\u2019s very spicy. She\u2019ll, like, definitely vocalize a lot and let me know her feelings.\u201d <\/p>\n

Milli proved her curiosity during the Alaska\u2019s News Source visit, coming right up to investigate the camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then Noob Noob is definitely a lot more sweet and shy. He loves; he loves mice. Those are his favorite,\u201d Snow added. <\/p>\n

But don\u2019t let their size fool you. These tiny mammals are fierce hunters. They change color with Alaska\u2019s seasons \u2014 white in winter, brown in summer \u2014 always deadly. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re super, super speedy, so they can probably, like, sneak up on rabbits. And then they also are just like, yeah, they\u2019re quickness, and they\u2019re tough,\u201d Snow said.<\/p>\n

Their secret weapon? Speed and sharp incisors. <\/p>\n

Though they\u2019ll make an exception for whipped cream, one of their favorite treats. <\/p>\n

Snow says Millie and Noob Noob represent what it takes to be an Olympian. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely makes sense that they\u2019re part of the Olympics… they\u2019re tough, like you have to be when you\u2019re competing in the Olympics. They\u2019re speedy, which I think you would probably need.\u201d Snow said. \u201cI could definitely watch them forever.\u201d <\/p>\n

While the world watches Olympic athletes compete in Italy, Alaska\u2019s fiercest competitors are right here at home.<\/p>\n

\"FansFans with the mascot Tina dance at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andy Wong)(Andy Wong | AP)<\/p>\n

To visit these critters, The Alaska Zoo staff recommend coming earlier in the day, as Millie and Noob Noob are most active between 10 and 11 a.m. <\/p>\n

With just a few days left of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Alaska\u2019s own mascots are here year-round and love having visitors. <\/p>\n

\"BenBen Ogden and Gus Schumacher, of the United States, stand on the podium after winning the silver medal in the cross-country skiing men’s team sprint free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matthias Schrader)(Matthias Schrader | AP)<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – As fans cheer on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, Alaska has its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[43409,14343,195946,49,48,195944,195945,11491,195943,4963,66,323,188292,74436,54040],"class_list":["post-486376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-43409","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-zoo","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ermine","tag-ermine-mascot","tag-mascot","tag-olympic-mascot","tag-olympics","tag-science","tag-wildlife","tag-winter-games","tag-winter-olympics","tag-zoo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}