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The ferret (Mustela furo) is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (Mustela putorius), as evidenced by the ferret's ability to interbreed with European polecats and produce hybrid offspring. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because ...
In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups. The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans , an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners . [ 1 ]
The ferret and European polecat are similar in both size and portions, to the point that dark-coloured ferrets are almost indistinguishable from their wild cousins, though the ferret's skull has a smaller cranial volume, and has a narrower postorbital constriction. [13]
The Ferret, a Welsh consumer affairs programme; Ferret Music, an American record label; The Ferrets (band), an Australian pop/rock band; Matelo Ferret (1918–1989), gypsy jazz guitarist and composer; Sarane Ferret (1912–1970), gypsy jazz guitarist and composer; Baro Ferret (1908–1978), gypsy jazz guitarist and composer
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat [4] or prairie dog hunter, [5] is a species of mustelid native to central North America. The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary ...
The black-footed ferret is entirely dependent on another keystone species, the prairie dog. A family of four ferrets eats 250 prairie dogs in a year; this requires a stable population of prairie dogs from an area of some 500 acres (2.0 km 2 ).
Domestic mink and ferrets are closely related mustelids both of the weasel subfamily. A 1968 study concluded that while mink eggs cannot be fertilised by ferret sperm, a ferret's egg can be fertilised if there is a high number of mink sperm. [ 21 ]
The Scottish polecat was first described by H. Tetley in 1939, after its extinction. Tetley suggests that the domestic ferret's progenitor was a Sutherland population of Scottish polecat. [5] Polecats first arrived in Britain from continental Europe at the end of the Last Glacial Period around 9,500 years ago.