Polecat or ferret/hybrid?
- Thread starter Sprocker101
- Start date
Sprocker101
Well-Known Member
I figured that would be the case. Not sure if any organisations would be interested in testing it.
Sprocker101
Well-Known Member
Mid Devon. I've emailed a contact who works for a local wildlife organization to see what he thinks. I'm unaware of any in the area anyway.
Polecats are pretty widespread now. Regularly seen squashed on the roads all over the country.
Essexsussex
Well-Known Member
I always thought they were feral. Used to stick them in a cage and work them whenever they turned up. Probably the wrong thing!
No, nothing wrong with that. I acquired plenty of ferrets the same way in my youth. Escapees gone feral.
But a 100% pure blooded wild polecat is somewhat different. It isn't an animal that you can just pick up and stick in a cage. Previously somewhat rare due to years of persecution and restricted to just a few areas, they're now pretty much everywhere.
Personally, after having worked and bred ferrets for seventy-odd years I am pretty sure the vast majority of "polecats" are the result of Fitch (polecat) ferret escapes, deliberate or otherwise.
I've never seen a wild polecat in this area and has already been said they are not over-receptive to being picked up! Rather like the mink we've had here for years.
I'm not saying that there are not true wild polecats in certain areas but they are certainly not as widespread as some would have, and having seen polecats in captivity I've certainly had fitch ferrets that have looked externally identical to their wild cousins.
Ferrets are quite capable of breeding in the wild as I've seen more than once.
I've never seen a wild polecat in this area and has already been said they are not over-receptive to being picked up! Rather like the mink we've had here for years.
I'm not saying that there are not true wild polecats in certain areas but they are certainly not as widespread as some would have, and having seen polecats in captivity I've certainly had fitch ferrets that have looked externally identical to their wild cousins.
Ferrets are quite capable of breeding in the wild as I've seen more than once.
Right, can anybody tell me the difference between a wild polecat and a domesticated one?
There is a lot talked about these animals being different, and experts with little or no experience of ferrets in general giving an informed opinion of things.
I've the best part of 50 yrs ferreting in the yorkshire dales under my belt, bred ferrets all my life, caught and tried taming countless feral polecats/ferrets in my time (stupid idea), and I cannot tell you the difference between a wild polecat and a domestic one purely down to sighting alone, apart maybe for a recent escapee/dumpee. (No muscle mass).
There is a lot talked about these animals being different, and experts with little or no experience of ferrets in general giving an informed opinion of things.
I've the best part of 50 yrs ferreting in the yorkshire dales under my belt, bred ferrets all my life, caught and tried taming countless feral polecats/ferrets in my time (stupid idea), and I cannot tell you the difference between a wild polecat and a domestic one purely down to sighting alone, apart maybe for a recent escapee/dumpee. (No muscle mass).
As far as I know, the only way to differentiate between a polecat ferret and a true wild polecat is by cranial measurement, otherwise, visually they look the same.
I've bred polecat ferrets for donkey's years and although the coloring is generally the same you do get darker versions. My granddaughter's boyfriend has a pet fitchy hob called Bear that's huge. If you saw it in the wild you would say it was a true polecat, but it isn't.
I've bred polecat ferrets for donkey's years and although the coloring is generally the same you do get darker versions. My granddaughter's boyfriend has a pet fitchy hob called Bear that's huge. If you saw it in the wild you would say it was a true polecat, but it isn't.
