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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 name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats, such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face. In the United States, the term polecat is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret , a native member of the Mustelinae.
Prepared dry foods consisting almost entirely of meat (including high-grade cat food, although specialized ferret food is increasingly available and preferable) [20] provide the most nutritional value. Some ferret owners feed pre-killed or live prey (such as mice and rabbits) to their ferrets to more closely mimic their natural diet.
Their dense fur, often serving as natural camouflage, undergoes seasonal changes to help them adjust to varying environmental conditions. [ 6 ] With the exception of the sea otter [ 9 ] they have anal scent glands that produce a strong-smelling secretion the animals use for sexual signalling and marking territory .
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]
‘This was as primal as it gets,’ a biologist who studied the creatures said
Predation by ferrets, cats, and dogs are a threat to adult weka; [24] stoats and ferrets are a threat to chicks; stoats and rats are a threat to eggs. It faces competition with introduced species for fruits and invertebrates, and suffers from the impact browsers have on forest composition and regeneration.
Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like that of an otter, mongoose or even possibly a ferret. They range in length from about 43 to 71 cm (17 to 28 in) (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about 1.4 to 4.5 kg (3 to 10 lb).