The ferret belongs to the marten family
The ferret is 30-45 cm long with a 11-19 cm long tail, and it weighs ½-1½ kg. The male is distinctly larger, and can be almost twice as large as the female.
The ferret has different winter and summer fur. The only common feature is a continuous white undercoat. The winter fur is very white with long brown-black guard hairs. The summer fur appears darker, it is still white as a base color, but somewhat more blackish-brown than the winter fur. At the same time, the ferret often gets blackish-brown hairs around the eyes in the summer. It looks as if it is wearing glasses.
The ferret has young in May/June. The young weigh about 10 g at birth and are naked and blind. They first get a thin, light fur which is later replaced by their first winter fur. The young get eyes after 4 weeks and at 2-3 months of age they are old enough to fend for themselves.
The ferret in Scandinavia
The ferret has probably lived in Scandinavia for many thousands of years. Today, however, it only lives naturally in Denmark, southern Sweden and southern Finland. It is uncertain whether the ferret lives in Norway, but there are reports of its presence in southeastern Norway on the border with Sweden.
The ferret usually lives in deciduous and mixed forests, but also likes to stay around buildings. The ferret is not particularly attracted to water, as the mink is. It usually lives in, for example, a rabbit or fox hole or under a pile of leaves, stones and branches or even in an outhouse. The ferret’s den is furnished in the most elegant way with a sleeping place and a side passage with a toilet.
The ferret is a predator!
The ferret lives on 99% animal food, and only rarely on plant food. It lives mainly on mammals such as rabbits and small rodents as well as birds and amphibians. It can also take some insects, fish and reptiles. It is worth noting that the ferret can move in and around buildings without harming poultry. It has been seen that a ferret kills a large number of chickens in a chicken coop, but it is rare that this deed can be attributed to the ferret. It prefers to take the eggs without otherwise disturbing the
poultry.
The ferret is mainly a nocturnal animal, but can also be seen during the day. However, the ferret’s food hunt takes place mainly at night and a nighttime hunting trip can extend over several kilometers.
The ferret and humans
The ferret has been sought after by humans because of its fur. Many ladies have worn a ferret fur coat around their necks. The ferret’s fur is very rough and stiff and not really a very fine fur. Today the ferret is found as a farm animal because of its fur.
The domestic form of the ferret, the ferret, has been used to hunt rats and rabbits and is actually still used for this purpose.
In recent years, it has become more and more common to keep ferrets as pets. No longer just the domestic form, but also the wild form. Ferrets with a lot of human contact can become very tame. You just have to remember that the ferret is very active and full of energy, and needs a lot of space.
