Ferret types and description
Ferret is an animal belonging to the category of mammals and belonging to the weasel family.
Weasel
External differences
In the wild, there are 3 main species of ferret living in the Eurasian territory and in the regions of North America, two of which - the Forest, or Forest Black Pole (Mustela putorius), and the Steppe, or Amur Steppe Pole (Mustela eversmanii) - live in Russia.
More than 2000 years ago, in the homes of southern Europe, the domesticated albino ferret was the first to live as a pet instead of a cat, as it was distinguished by its non-aggressive disposition and calm character.
The general descriptive characteristic of all trochee includes the following distinctive features:
- the body of the animals is elongated, flexible, with a neatly folded oval head and a slightly elongated muzzle;
- short legs disproportionately relative to the body, which gives the body a squat, distinguished by muscles, which helps the animal to move by jumping;
- the toes are equipped with long claws, allowing you to crawl through trees and dig deep holes.
In length, males of wild ferrets grow up to half a meter. Females are slightly smaller in size, reaching a length of up to 0.4 m. Each species of trochee has its own weight indicators, their weight can range from 0.3 to 2.0 kg. The body ends with a bushy tail that can be up to 18 cm long.
The fur cover of wild ferrets is formed by underfur, thick and soft to the touch, and guard hairs, which are noticeably lighter in color at the very base and dark closer to the ends.
Autumn molt changes summer fur to winter fur, which outwardly makes the wild ferret even more spectacular.
Depending on the species, the color of wild ferrets varies. They can be from sandy, light colors to completely white or almost black. Another specific feature of the ferrets' appearance that immediately catches the eye is their facial ornament, which looks like a mask.
As a protective frightening mechanism, the wild ferret uses a secret produced by special glands, a secret with a pungent pungent odor.
Of the sense organs in wild ferrets, the sense of smell is most developed, which helps the animal to hunt. For hunting, teeth are also important: there are 28-30 of them in the animal.
In a natural environment, a ferret lives for 3-4 years, when, when kept at home, its life expectancy increases to 5-7 years.
Mustela eversmanni
The light steppe polecat can be seen in regions of Europe, including the Czech Republic, eastern Austria, southern regions of Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary, northern Bulgaria and Poland. The semi-deserts and forest-steppe areas of the Central and Central Asian region, as well as the area of Russia from its European regions to the Far Eastern borders, closer to China, is also the habitat of the steppe ferret.
Among the distinctive features of the appearance of the steppe ferret, its description includes:
- body length from 0.52 to 0.56 cm with a weight of 2 kg,
- tail up to 18 cm,
- sparse color of the guard hair of a brown shade with darker ends on the tail and paws.
Females of the steppe ferret bring up to 10 or more cubs, differing from other individuals in fertility.
The only subspecies of the Steppe Pole Pole is the Amur Steppe Pole, which grows up to 0.5 m in length and weighs no more than 2 kg. The choir stands out in the photo with its white-yellow color, due to which it looks unusual. The range of the Amur steppe ferret occupies the northeastern Chinese area and the Amur steppes.
The main components of the diet of Steppe ferrets are small rodents such as ground squirrels and hamsters; amphibians and small birds are less common. In winter, a varied diet is reduced to simple voles that are found in the steppes. In cold weather, animals are often content with waste and carrion near human habitats. When spring comes, they pick up fish in river floods.
Mustela putorius
Black forest ferrets can be found throughout the Eurasian area, especially in the Western European side and the European part of Russia. Its preferred habitats are groves and forests. The Ferret hunt on the open forest edges, for which it was nicknamed the forest predator.
The wild forest black polecat is slightly smaller in size than its steppe relative. It grows in length from 0.36 to 0.48 m, gaining a mass of no more than 1.5 kg. At the same time, the female black polecat is noticeably smaller in size: 1.5 times. The fluffy tail of a forest animal is up to 17 cm long.
The main color of the polecat is black, from where it got its second name. However, the population of this species may include both red and pure white individuals.
The forest polecat differs from the steppe polecat in the absence of contrast between the color of the body and paws. Like other ferrets, the forest animal has a characteristic face mask.
The female polecat cannot boast of the fertility inherent in the steppe. The brood usually has no more than 6 cubs.
The nutritious diet is not much different from that used by the steppe ferret. Among the main prey are rodents, toads, large insects such as grasshoppers and locusts, small birds and their eggs. Being close to human habitation, the forest ferret is often found in the chicken coop, where it hunts for poultry and a rabbit.
Mustela nigripes
The black-footed American polecat can only be seen in the Central American regions. The animal listed in the Red Book belongs to rare species that were released into the forests of some states of America and Mexico for artificial restoration of the population.
The description of the appearance of the black-footed polecat characterizes it as a medium-sized animal that grows in length no more than 0.3-0.4 m and weighs up to 1.0 kg. The size of the fluffy tail of the American ferret is 11-15 cm.
The main color of the black-footed American ferret is yellow-brown. It is formed due to the white tint present at the base of the hairline and dark color at the tips.
The viability of the American animal is directly dependent on the prairie dog population, which form the basis of the ferret's diet. To ensure proper nutrition of the ferret family, up to 250 meadow rodents are required annually. Black-footed ferrets also supplement their diet with voles and ground squirrels.
Mustela putorius furo
The domesticated species of wild forest ferret is known as the ferret. There is another name for the domesticated type of this ferret - furo, which scientists use predominantly to refer to albino animals.
Domesticated choris are now available in a variety of colors. The color of the fur can be completely dark, almost black. There are brown pets. There are mixed colors of domesticated ferrets, as well as completely white.
Ferrets usually do not grow more than half a meter in length during home breeding and living and weigh an average of 0.7-2.0 kg, depending on the quality of care and nutrition. The tail of domestic ferrets is up to 13 cm in length.
The domesticated black leech ferret often interbreeds with other species.As a result of such experiments, its subspecies appeared - the golden polecat, an animal whose progenitors are the domestic ferret and the wild forest black polecat. This is the first ferret breed that appeared in artificial conditions, females of which are no more than 39 cm in length, males up to 46 cm.