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What is a ferret?The ferret is a small sleek fur-bearing mammal that belongs to the same Family as the otter, weasel, wolverine, and mink. Ferrets weigh from 1 to 5 pounds at maturity. Males are called hobs, females are jills, and baby ferrets are kits. Adult males are generally 2 to 3 times larger than females.
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Female [L]; Male [R]
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Domestic Ferrets
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Our pet ferrets are domestic animals. Records of ferret domestication go back to about 2500 BC. Humans domesticated the ferret to help protect against rodents (rats and mice).
Today there are between 7 and 10 million domestic ferrets in the United States, making the ferret the third most popular interactive companion animal after dogs and cats. They are kept as pets and are also used as a laboratory species. In some cases they are used as working animals. Hunting with ferrets is illegal in North America. Ferrets can have many different coat colors. Classification (taxonomy) of the domestic ferret
The following represents the scientific classification of the domestic (pet) ferret:
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora - (meat-eating, includes cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, weasels, etc.) Family: Mustelidae (Sub-Family: Mustelinae - includes martens, mink, and weasels) Genus: Mustela Species: M. putorius putorius - European polecat ferret Subscpecies: M. putrorius furo - Domestic ferret Latin bionomial: "Mustela putorius furo" means "weasel-like stinky thief." |
Different coat colors and markings of the Domestic Ferret - Chart courtesy of Marshall Farms
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wild cousins
The Domestic Ferret has many wild cousins. The closest relative to our pet ferrets is the European polecat which ranges through Europe and the United Kingdom.
Wolverine (Gulo gulo)
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Honey Badger (Mellivora Capensis}
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Siberian weasel (Mustela Sibirica)
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In North America, the native black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is an endangered species. The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) has a range from South-Eastern Europe, Russia. The Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) lives in the Russian steppes, and ranges from Central-Eastern Europe to China. Northern Africa has the striped zorrilla (Ictonyx striatus) and the honey badger. Grisons (Galictis cuja) live on the South American continent.
