A family in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu province, get along well with a group of weasels that have lived in their courtyard for more than 20 years, the Modern Express reported on Monday.

Aunt Man, in her 60s, said the weasels have lived in a wall of their courtyard since they moved here two decades ago. Their bodies are yellow, about 30 to 40 centimeters long, their tails are longer than 10 centimeters and their faces look like those of mice, Man said. She even feeds the group.

Nearby residents said the weasels keep the mouse population down in the neighborhood. One resident said, "If we don't attack them, they won't create trouble." They treat the weasels as friends.

Weasels are efficient hunters of small animals and the group's main food is mice. One weasel can eat 1,500 to 3,200 mice each year.