The beloved Olympic mascots are color-changing critters that are vulnerable to climate change

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The pair of animals chosen as mascots of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are stoats — weasel-like creatures that are at risk because of climate change. One of them 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.

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 AP 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.

When asked by the AP in Milan 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.

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

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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)

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A crack in a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has eliminated the risk of a catastrophic explosion but it's still not safe enough for the remaining 16,000 residents living closest to the aerospace plant to go home, officials said Tuesday.

Crews were spraying water to keep cooling the tank that overheated last week, prompting the evacuation of 50,000 people in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. Most returned home after a crack formed over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, relieving pressure inside.

The evacuation zone remained the same on Tuesday morning, said Orange County Fire Capt. Brian Yau.

Crews worked overnight to ensure two other nearby tanks were neutralized and would not be affected by the compromised tank, he said, adding that material from one of these two tanks was transferred to another that has a neutralizing agent.

“They are moving material over to ensure that all threats have been eliminated,” Yau said.

Those threats include the risk of a very small explosion and potential spill, officials said.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable chemical used to make plastics — can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The tank at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant contains 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of the chemical.

The interior cooled to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C), the county's fire division chief Craig Covey said Monday, down from 100 degrees (37.7 degrees C) a day earlier. The company said its technical specialists and the county fire authority have removed insulation from the tank to help cool it.

Health officials sought to reassure people who are returning to homes near the plant.

“There was no contamination. There were no fumes,” Orange County Health Director Regina Chinsio-Kwong said at Monday's news conference. “There was not a leak. So it should be, you should feel comfortable going home even if you’re across the street from that new zone line.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District will monitor the air for several months and the EPA will be checking sewer and storm drains for spills, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said.

Garden Grove Unified School District said last week it was shutting a dozen schools through what was supposed to be the last day of the school year on Wednesday but later said only three would remain closed Tuesday. It was unclear if they would reopen before the school year ends this week.

At a parking lot at a large park in Fountain Valley, just southwest of Garden Grove, people sought refuge in an ad hoc shelter there or pitched tents outside. Other people gathered in the park to enjoy Memorial Day.

Kim Yen, a retiree who was still evacuated from her home two blocks from the plant, welcomed news that the worst was not expected.

“I am happy and many of us are happy,” she said Monday.

She said she's ready to go back but wants to be sure it’s safe first. She's also been worrying about the emergency workers, who she called “our heroes.”

As the tank heated up, the chemical converted from liquid to gas, ramping up the pressure and explosion risk, said Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University engineering professor who has studied environmental contamination. Some of the methyl methacrylate may already have hardened into a stable plastic similar to plexiglass, reducing the danger, he said.

The tank could eventually cool enough for crews to safely stabilize and drain the remaining material without triggering a spark or ignition, Whelton said.

However, he said there is still a risk of an explosion while the chemical remains hot and reactive. Temperatures need to fall closer to 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 to 21.1 degrees C) before conditions are considered significantly safer, he said.

GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields for military and commercial aircraft. It employs about 16,000 people across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries, according to the company website.

“We apologize for the ongoing disruption this incident is causing and our priority remains its safe resolution, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible,” the company said.

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

——

This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to TJ McGovern, interim fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, not to division chief Craig Covey.

Willingham reported from Boston. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.

Two evacuees sit in their pickup truck at a gas station within the evacuation zone in Stanton, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

An aerial view shows a police checkpoint enforcing a road closure at the evacuation zone boundary in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan De Jonge and fiancé Sher Stuckman set up a tent with their belonging and pet outside the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People walk outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An American Red Cross volunteer walks outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif.,on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)