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History of Ferrets

The name ‘Ferret’ is gotten from the Latin word ‘furittus’, which means 'little thief'. This name can deduce what Ferrets are animals that come from the weasel family (Mustelidae), including stoats, minks, wolverines, ermines, and polecats. Ferrets are small creatures with fur, pear-shaped body, long tail, long claws, short legs, long tails and a cone-shaped nose.

Their hair is black, brown, and white or mixed in color. These animals are sexually dimorphic predators, with males being substantially larger than females. They are induced ovulators. The average gestation period for ferrets is 42 days, and their females have two or three litters yearly.

The litter size is usually between three and seven kits, which are weaned after three to six weeks and can stand on their own after three months. Baby ferrets are known as kits, and they are born with white fur and get their approximate adult color at three weeks of age.

Ferrets are now domesticated

Majority of ferrets are domesticated, and experts say that the domestication started over 2,500 years ago. Naturally, ferrets are predators, and right from the time they have been used for hunting rodents and rabbits. Because of their curious name and lean bodies, ferrets usually go into holes to chase rodents and rabbits out of caves.

That’s where the expression ‘ferret out’ came from. In the 19th century, to the start of World War II, ferrets were widely used in the American West to guard grain stores against rodents. They then garnered popularity in the 90s. According to the American Ferret Association, if a pet ferret escapes, it rarely survives on its own for more than a few days.

No naturally wild ferrets!

There are no naturally wild domesticated ferrets. The average lifespan of domestic ferrets is about eight years to 10 years.

They are crepuscular animals, not nocturnal animals like people presume because they are most active at dawn and dusk. Nocturnal animals are active at night mostly, and since that is not the case for ferrets, it is safe to say they are not nocturnal animals.

Ferrets sleep during the day. During winter, they usually stay underground for up to a week at a time. When ferrets are excited, they perform a behavior known as the 'weasel war dance'. This is characterized by wild sideways hops, leaping and bumping into nearby objects or toys. Ferrets can get heartworms from the bite of an infected mosquito.

Ferrets are similar to dogs in their susceptibility to heartworm infections, but their symptoms are identical to those seen in cats. One drug, Advantage Multi for Cats (imidacloprid and moxidectin), is FDA-approved to prevent heartworms in ferrets.

Domesticated Ferrets

Ferrets' exact history is uncertain, but the ancient Greeks started domesticating ferrets about 2,500 years ago to hunt vermin according to the Woodland Park Zoo. Domesticated ferrets most likely descend from the European polecat.

Ferrets have a perfect sense of hearing, sight and smell all to the end of hunting their preys. They make chattering sounds or hissing noises whenever they are frightened.

Currently, the vast majority of ferrets are the domesticated variety. Domesticated ferrets are usually born with a variety of fur colors like albino, dark-eyed white, silver, sable, chocolate, cinnamon, and black sable. These domesticated ferrets live in cages, but they need a minimum of 4 hours daily to run and play around.

They play very hard and quite intensely and so to do that well; they need to be let out and free. Their polecats' ancestors were solitary animals, but ferrets are happier and livelier when in social groups. They are also territorial, like to sleep in hidden and dark areas, and love to burrow.

Like most mustelids, ferrets have scent glands close to their anus and the secretion from which are used in scent making. They use urine marking for individual recognition and sex. They quickly recognize individuals from the anal gland secretions or unfamiliar individuals. They also do well in temperatures that are between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Black-footed Ferrets

There is a wild species called the black-footed ferret known as ‘Mustela nigripes’. They once went around North America, and so their homes were grassy areas.

These wild species are rare, they are known as North America's rarest mammal, according to to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web. Though, are also considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

They were about 120 in number in the 1970s, but because of two disease outbreaks, they were wiped out most in large numbers such that only 18 were captured for a breeding program. In the year 2006, the offspring of the remaining 18 were let out in eight reintroduction sites in Mexico and the US.

This shows that Ferrets are dedicated recyclers, and they make their homes from old prairie dog tunnels and the burrows of other animals. Each of these black-footed ferrets require about 40 to 59 hectares of living space to get enough food, and that is according to ADW. They are not as colorful as pet ferrets. Their colors are most times pale color with white foreheads, throats, muzzles and black feet.

Just how many are they in the World?

We cannot place an exact number on the number of ferrets in the World, but note that they are now considered an endangered species, especially the wild ones.

In the United States alone, it was estimated by the California State Bird and Mammal Conservation Program in 1996 that there were around 800,000 domestic ferrets that were being used as pets.

This is due greatly to the prairie dog population decline, since prairie dogs are a significant food and shelter source for wild ferrets. In California, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, ferrets are illegal as pets. Other states have strict regulations about possessing, importing, selling, neutering and vaccinating ferrets.