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Five ferrets were imported in 1879, and in 1882–1883, 32 shipments of ferrets were made from London, totaling 1,217 animals. Only 678 landed, and 198 were sent from Melbourne, Australia. On the voyage, the ferrets were mated with the European polecat, creating a number of hybrids that were capable of surviving in the wild.
A subspecies with the name Putorius was first described by Georges Cuvier in his 1817 work Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom). Steppe polecats and black-footed ferrets had not yet been described until 1827 and 1851 respectively.
The first accurate descriptions of ferrets come from Strabo during 200 AD, when ferrets were released onto the Balearic Islands to control rabbit populations. As the European rabbit is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa , the European polecat likely was first domesticated in these regions.
Ferrets have long weaseled their way into many people's hearts. To the surprise of some, the small fury animals were domesticated centuries ago, and they can be great pets for people who live in ...
Domestication is a gradual process, so there is no precise moment in the history of a given species when it can be considered to have become fully domesticated. Zooarchaeology has identified three classes of animal domesticates: Pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, etc.) Livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, etc.)
SEE ALSO: Meet the happiest animal on Earth. 14-30,000 BC: Dogs. 8500 BC: Sheep and Cats. 8000 BC: Goats. 7000 BC: Pigs and Cattle. 6000 BC: Chickens. Check out these furry animals: 5000 BC ...
Southeast Europe and Northern Asia Southern Asia Mustela furo Linnaeus, 1758: Domestic ferret: Domestic Worldwide (domesticated); New Zealand (non-native) Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758: European polecat: Europe, North Africa and Northern Asia Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman, 1851) Black-footed ferret: North America
Domesticated ferrets kept as pets are not native to the U.S., but black-footed ferrets have been part of the American prairie ecosystem for about 100,000 years, according to fossil records, and ...