In real life, the Olympic mascot is a weasel-like animal at risk because of climate change

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The two animals chosen as the mascots of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are stoats, a weasel-like animal that's at risk because of climate change. One of the pair is brown and the other is white — because in cold climates, the tiny animals' fur changes from brown to white for winter, to blend in with the landscape.

However, stoats are increasingly turning white before there is any snow on the ground, leaving them vulnerable to predators — their snow-white coats amid dirt and rocks is like a target on their backs for sharp-eyed raptors.

Olympic organizers haven't talked about that, at least not so far.

They say the mascots are meant to welcome people and communicate that these Games are infused with Italian spirit.

The white stoat mascot is Tina — short for Cortina, after Cortina D'Ampezzo, one of the two cities hosting the Winter Olympics. Her younger, darker-furred brother, Milo — after the city of Milan — was born without one paw and is the mascot for the Paralympics in March.

Their images are on magnets, bags and pins. But since stores sold out in the Games' first days, it's been nearly impossible to find a plush toy of the stoat siblings in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Still, every medalist receives a toy on the podium, though, which means they stay in the public eye. And a costumed Tina is a regular at competition venues, spreading joy, greeting giddy spectators and posing for photos.

Marco Granata, a doctoral student who researches stoats at the University of Turin in Italy, thinks the organizers are missing out on an opportunity to educate people a bit more and help this animal.

“It’s ironic because everyone now is talking about stoats, looking for stoats, but no one knows about real stoats, mostly because the Olympic committee didn’t inform the population about it,” he told The Associated Press.

When asked by the AP on Thursday why no one is talking about the stoat and climate change, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said: “I’m glad you raised it and we should include that in our narrative.”

If the mascot speaks to the changing environment, and that message can be conveyed to the younger generation, “let’s use it,” Dubi also said, speaking at a news conference in Milan.

The Olympics' website describes stoats as naturally curious — animals that "love sports and the outdoor life but they also want to have fun. They represent the contemporary, vibrant and dynamic Italian spirit.”

Raffaella Paniè leads the branding for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games and oversaw the mascot’s creation, crowd-sourced from young Italian students.

She told The Associated Press she doesn’t think talking about the implications of climate change is within the scope of the organizing committee. There were so many options for messaging, and the committee needed a focus, she added.

They put a lot of effort into making the mascots very friendly. “That’s how the mascot comes to life really, makes it very special, more than what it is as an animal,” she said.

“We are organizing a sport event so we need to promote the culture of the country,” she added.

As climate change shortens winters globally, the stoat and about 20 other color-changing species are more frequently mismatched, said L. Scott Mills, an emeritus professor at the University of Montana.

Their seasonal molting is triggered by shortening day length — a cue that the seasons are changing — so it happens around the same time each year, even when there’s no snow, Mills added.

“Most of their survival depends on avoiding predation and that depends on camouflage — having the right wardrobe when it’s snowing and when it’s not,” Mills said.

While stoats are not endangered, studies have shown that predators attack mismatched decoy weasels more than matching ones, Mills said.

Owls, hawks, coyotes and foxes all hunt for stoats.

Mills connected the camouflage mismatch phenomenon to climate change while studying snowshoe hares some 13 years ago. That was a “eureka moment," he said.

Granata, the doctoral student, tracks stoat populations in the Italian Alps, where they live at high altitudes. They were once hunted for their fur, for coats, but that is now prohibited in Italy.

He says the stoat faces a much more important threat, just like sports that rely on snow. Researchers say the list of places that could host Winter Games will shrink substantially in the coming years.

“I think that the Olympic committee came up with the perfect mascot for these Winter Games,” Granata said. “Both the stoat and the Winter Games share the same destiny. They look fine now, but they are increasingly impacted by climate change.”

Mills said stoats, which live across the Northern Hemisphere, may eventually be able to evolve to stay brown year-round if there is no snow. Conservation efforts help, along with steps to reduce emissions and slow warming, so stoat populations don't decrease too much, he added.

Projections show that if stoats don't adapt, the color-changing species will decline in numbers over the next couple of decades as the snow is reduced, Mills added.

“This is an example of the challenges of climate change, but also the potential for hope," he said. "We have a way to prevent them from being lost.”

Peterson reported from Turin, Italy.

AP Winter Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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A woman poses next to Milo, the mascot of the Paralympic Winter games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

An Olympic mascot dances near the finish line of an alpine ski women's downhill training, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Fans take selfies with the Olympic mascot Tina at the finish area of an alpine ski, downhill portion of a women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Doctoral student Marco Granata peers through a tunnel in a box that stoats can enter and exit freely, while a camera films them, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Doctoral student Marco Granata shows the camera he uses to film stoats, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Doctoral student Marco Granata stretches his arm through an open tunnel in a device that allows stoats to enter and exit freely, while a camera captures footage of them, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Doctoral student Marco Granata holds an Alpine Mostela, a device he uses to film stoats in their mountain habitat, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Doctoral student Marco Granata reviews footage he captured of stoats, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Turin, Italy. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

NEW DELHI (AP) — A coalition of major trade unions and farmers’ groups in India mounted a nationwide strike Thursday to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers.

In parliament, lawmakers from opposition political parties demanded that the government scrap the trade deal and criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the slogan “Narendra Modi, surrender Modi.”

The one-day strike partially disrupted public services and manufacturing activities, highlighting resistance to the reform agenda set by Modi, leader of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, and underscoring the political risks of pushing market-oriented policies before key state elections later this year.

In New Delhi, a protesting farmer activist, Hannan Mollah, said that India's recent free trade agreements with New Zealand, Europe and now the U.S. were poised to ruin India's farm sector as the local markets would be inundated by cheaper products.

“The fight will go on till our demands are met," Mollah said "If not, the public will gather in large numbers and uproot the Modi government."

A union leader said that the trade deal with Washington opens the Indian market to subsidized agricultural products, threatening the livelihoods of millions of small farmers.

“Cheap American farm produce will be dumped in India, making it difficult for our farmers and small businesses to compete,” said Amarjeet Kaur, general-secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, a prominent union that took part in the strike.

The government in New Delhi has defended the interim trade pact as a step toward expanding exports, attracting investments and strengthening strategic ties with the U.S. The interests of farmers in the agriculture and dairy sectors were protected, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said recently.

India and the U.S. announced this month that they were moving closer to a formal trade pact, releasing an interim framework that would lower tariffs and deepen economic ties.

A fact sheet issued by the White House shows reciprocal tariff on Indian goods decreasing from 25% to 18%, while an additional 25% penalty tariff for India's purchase of Russian oil will be dropped.

In return, India will stop buying Russian oil and purchase $500 billion worth of U.S. goods, including energy, while cutting taxes and non-tariff barriers.

The protesters in India also opposed Modi’s efforts to privatize state-run companies and implement new labor codes, calling the sweeping changes “deceptive fraud” against workers.

Indian officials have argued that labor reforms were needed to boost efficiency and create jobs in the long run.

Members of trade unions hold banners during a nationwide strike to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A boy holds a banner during trade unions nationwide strike to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Members of trade unions shout slogans during a nationwide strike to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Members of trade unions hold banners during a nationwide strike to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Members of the opposition stage a protest against the India-US trade deal outside the Parliament in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo)

Senior Congress party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, center, hands crossed, joins other members of the opposition during a protest against the India-US trade deal outside the Parliament in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo)