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The ferret is a domestic mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo . Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur, have an average length of 20 inches (51 cm) including a 5 inch (13 cm) tail, weigh about 1.5–4 pounds (0.7–2 kg) , and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years.

Several other small, elongated carnivorous mammals belonging to the family Mustelidae (weasels) also have the word ferret in their common names, including an endangered species, the Black-footed Ferret. The ferret is a very close relative of the polecat, but it is as yet unclear whether it is a domesticated form of the European Polecat, the Steppe Polecat, or some hybrid of the two.

The history of the ferret's domestication is uncertain, like that of most other domestic animals, but it is likely that ferrets have been domesticated for at least 2,500 years. They are still used for hunting rabbits in some parts of the world today, but increasingly they are being kept simply as pets.

Being so closely related to polecats, ferrets are quite easily able to hybridize with them, and this has occasionally resulted in feral colonies of ferret polecat hybrids that have been perceived to have caused damage to native fauna, perhaps most notably in New Zealand. As a result, some parts of the world have imposed restrictions on the keeping of ferrets.

Biology

Characteristics

Ferrets have a long and slender body covered with brown, black, white, or mixed fur. Average length is 20 inches including a 5 inch tail and they weigh 1.5 to 4 pounds. The males are substantially larger than the females. Gestation is 42 days and litter size averages 3 to 7. The young are weaned after 3 to 6 weeks and become fully independent at 3 months. Sexual maturity may come at 6 months. Average life span is 8 years.

Behavior

Ferrets are crepuscular, which means they spend 14–18 hours a day asleep and are most active around the hours of dawn and dusk. Unlike their polecat ancestors, which are solitary animals, ferrets will live happily in social groups. They are territorial, like to burrow and prefer to sleep in an enclosed area.

Like many other carnivores, ferrets have scent glands near their anuses, the secretions from which are used in scent marking. It has been reported that ferrets can recognize individuals from these anal gland secretions, as well as the sex of unfamiliar individuals. Ferrets may also use urine marking for sex and individual recognition.

As with skunks, ferrets can release their anal gland secretions when startled or scared, but the smell is much less potent and dissipates rapidly. Most pet ferrets in the US are sold de-scented, with their anal glands removed. In many other parts of the world, including the UK and other European countries, de-scenting is considered an unnecessary mutilation.

When excited, they may perform a routine commonly referred to as the weasel war dance, a frenzied series of sideways hops. This is often accompanied by a soft clucking noise, commonly referred to as dooking.

Diet

Ferrets are obligate carnivores. The natural diet of their wild ancestors consisted of whole small prey, i.e., meat, organs, bones, skin, feathers, and fur.

Dentition

Ferrets have four types of teeth (the number includes maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth)

  • Twelve small teeth (only a couple of millimeters) located between the canines in the front of the mouth. These are known as the incisors and are used for grooming.
  • Four canines used for killing prey.
  • Twelve premolar teeth that the ferret uses to chew food, and are located at the sides of the mouth, directly behind the canines. The ferret uses these teeth to cut through flesh, using them in a scissors action to cut the meat into digestible chunks.
  • Six molars (two on top and four on the bottom) at the far back of the mouth are used to crush food.

History of domestication

In common with most domestic animals, the original reason for ferrets' domestication by human beings is uncertain but it may have involved hunting. It was most likely domesticated from the European polecat ( Mustela putorius ), though it is also possible that ferrets are descendants of the Steppe polecat ( Mustela eversmannii ), or some hybridization thereof. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggests that ferrets were domesticated around 2,500 years ago, although what appear to be ferret remains have been dated to 1500 BC. It has been claimed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate ferrets, but as no mummified remains of a ferret have yet been found, or any hieroglyph of a ferret, and no polecat now occurs wild in the area, that idea seems unlikely.

The Greek word ictis occurs in a play written by Aristophanes, The Acharnians , in 425 BC. Whether this was a reference to ferrets, polecats, or the similar Egyptian Mongoose is uncertain. The name "ferret" is derived from the Latin furittus , meaning "little thief", a likely reference to the common ferret penchant for secreting away small items. Ferrets were probably used by the Romans for hunting.

Colonies of feral ferrets have established themselves in areas where there is no competition from similarly sized predators, such as in the Shetland Islands and in remote regions in New Zealand. Where ferrets coexist with polecats, hybridization is common. It has been claimed that New Zealand has the world's largest feral population of ferret-polecat hybrids. In 1877, farmers in New Zealand demanded that ferrets be introduced into the country to control the rabbit population, which was also introduced by humans. 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. In 1884 and 1886, close to 4,000 ferrets and ferret hybrids, 3,099 weasels and 137 stoats were turned loose. Concern was raised that these animals would eventually prey on indigenous wildlife once rabbit populations dropped, and this is exactly what happened to New Zealand bird species which previously had no mammalian predators.

Ferreting

Main article: Rabbiting

For millennia, the main use of ferrets was for hunting, or ferreting . With their long, lean build, and inquisitive nature, ferrets are very well equipped for getting down holes and chasing rodents and rabbits out of their burrows. Caesar Augustus sent ferrets or mongooses (named "viverrae" by Plinius) to the Balearic Islands to control the rabbit plagues in 6 BC. They are still used for hunting in some countries, including the United Kingdom, where rabbits are considered a plague species by farmers. However, the practice is illegal in several countries where it is feared that ferrets could unbalance the ecology. In 2009 in Finland, where ferreting was previously unknown, the city of Helsinki began to use ferrets to restrict the city's rabbit population to a manageable level. Ferreting was chosen as a method because in populated areas it is considered to be safer and less ecologically damaging than shooting the rabbits.

In England, in 1390, a law was enacted restricting the use of ferrets for hunting to only the relatively wealthy:

... it is ordained that no manner of layman which hath not lands to the value of forty shillings a year shall from henceforth keep any greyhound or other dog to hunt, nor shall he use ferrets, nets, heys, harepipes nor cords, nor other engines for to take or destroy deer, hares, nor conies, nor other gentlemen's game, under pain of twelve months' imprisonment.

Ferrets were first introduced into the New World in the 17th century, and were used extensively from 1860 until the start of World War II to protect grain stores in the American West from invading rodents.

Ferrets as pets

In the United States, ferrets were relatively rare pets until the 1980s. Dr. Wendy Winstead, a physician, sold ferrets to celebrities including Dick Smothers and David Carradine while making television appearances with ferrets in the 1980s, writing books and promoting them until her death in the 1990s from cancer. A government study by the California State Bird and Mammal Conservation Program found that by 1996, approximately 800,000 or so domestic ferrets were likely being kept as pets in the United States.

A United States government study conducted by the California Department of Health Services on national pet attack statistics found 452 reported incidents of ferret bites during the 10-year period 1978–87. By comparison, pet dogs accounted for an estimated 585,000 injuries that required medical attention in the year 1986 alone, with the total number of pet dogs in the United States in 1996 estimated at 55,000,000 and the total number of pet ferrets in the United States in 1996 estimated at 800,000. Adjusting for the proportionate

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