Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Ferret
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Domestic species of mammal}} {{About|the domesticated ferret|the endangered North American species|black-footed ferret|other uses}} {{Pp-semi-indef}} {{Speciesbox |name=Ferret |image=Ferret_2008.png |image_caption=A pet ferret |status = DOM |parent=Putorius |genus=Mustela |species=furo |authority=[[Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] |synonyms=''Mustela putorius furo'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> }} 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 (biology)|hybrid]] offspring. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because of their long, slender bodies. Including their [[tail]], the average length of a ferret is about {{cvt|50|cm}}; they weigh between {{cvt|0.7|and|2.0|kg}}; and their fur can be black, brown, white, or a mixture of those colours. The species is [[sexually dimorphic]], with males being considerably larger than females. Ferrets may have been domesticated since [[ancient times]], but there is widespread disagreement because of the sparseness of written accounts and the inconsistency of those which survive. Contemporary scholarship agrees that ferrets were bred for sport, hunting [[rabbit]]s in a practice known as [[rabbiting]]. In [[North America]], the ferret has become an increasingly prominent choice of household [[pet]], with over five million in the [[United States]] alone. The legality of ferret ownership varies by location. In [[New Zealand]] and some other countries, restrictions apply due to the damage done to native fauna by [[feral]] colonies of [[polecat–ferret hybrid]]s. The ferret has also served as a fruitful research animal, contributing to research in [[neuroscience]] and [[infectious]] disease, especially [[influenza]]. The domestic ferret is often confused with the [[black-footed ferret]] (''Mustela nigripes''), a species native to North America.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fox|first1=James G.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/863695703|title=Biology and Diseases of the Ferret|last2=Marini|first2=Robert P.|date=2014|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-78273-6|edition=3rd|location=Ames, Iowa|pages=5|oclc=863695703|access-date=2021-12-31|archive-date=2022-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105232948/https://www.worldcat.org/title/biology-and-diseases-of-the-ferret/oclc/863695703|url-status=live}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)