The last post concentrated on some of the similarities between ferrets and
polecats, due in the most part to a common heritage.  Because of the
limitations of the FML, the number of similarities was not meant to be
all-inclusive; just something to help demonstrate the differences in this
post (the same can be said of this comparison as well)
 
Ferrets have been domesticated for at least 2500 years; at the present time,
it is impossible to say what they looked like back then, and having
extensively studied the skeletons of both ferrets and polecats, I'm not
convinced you *can* tell the difference between the two at that time.  It is
impossible to say where the ferret was actually domesticated; I tend to
think it was south-central Europe, in the middle of incipient agriculture
and rabbit country, but *NO EVIDENCE EXISTS* to place the origin of the
ferret in *ANY* location.  However, I *can* and will say with confidence it
*was not* in Egypt.
 
I still haven't convinced myself the ferret was initially domesticated for
rabbit hunting.  When it was first being domesticated, house cats were
unheard of in most areas of Europe, but agriculture was becoming big stuff,
mostly due to the influence of the Mediterranean peoples.  I suspect the
ferret was initially domesticated for mousing and ratting, taking the role
of the house cat in its' domestication in Egypt.  I also suspect the ferret
spread rapidly because it was used for ratting aboard early sailing vessels,
explaining its spread in the Med.  I suspect the discovery of the ferret's
ability to hunt rabbits came later, and with the introduction of the house
cat (to this day, a better hunter), became the primary desired
characteristic.  With that in mind, some of the differences between the
polecat and the ferret become readily apparent as the work of humans.
 
The discovery behaviors of ferrets and polecats are significantly different.
Like most wild animals, polecats tend to be cautious of new objects in the
environment; ferrets charge over to investigate.  Polecats follow the walls,
ferrets walk across rooms.  Polecats slink, ferrets walk or bound.  Overall
behaviors of the ferret indicate a decrease in its apprehension of new
environments and objects compared to polecats.  Fear of humans is also
markedly decreased.  Both traits are common in domesticated species,
especially in domesticated carnivores, although I think a wild housecat is
much harder to tame down than a dog, and a dog harder than a ferret.
However, I have little expertise taming feral ferrets because none exist in
the USA, so I may be wrong.
 
Ferrets have a much stronger body odor than any other mustelid I've had the
pleasure to sniff.  I've sniffed a few polecats, scores of mink and skunk,
and even a dead black-footed ferret that was being prepared for taxidermy.
Ferrets simply stink compared to the others (Body smell, not the anal sac
scent spray).  But this difference makes sense if you want an animal to
*CHASE* a rabbit out of a burrow, rather than killing and eating it.  The
rabbits will smell the ferret before it gets to them and flee.  I think this
helps to explain why our ferrets tend to get blackheads on the tail and
rump, something I've never seen documented in wild polecats.
 
For a long time, the skull of the ferret has muddied the identification of
it's ancestor species.  Today, most believe it was domesticated from the
European polecat, but not long ago many thought it came from the steppe
polecat.  The skull is slightly pinched behind the zygomatic arch, like in
steppe polecats, and the brain (compared to European polecats) is
correspondingly smaller.  This is also typical of domesticated species.
While ferrets are quite bright, polecats seem to be even brighter.
 
Other changes include the ability of ferrets to have two litters per year,
compared to only one in polecats, yet another trait of domesticated mammals.
The ferret's eye has lost some of its ability to see color, most notably the
blues, which could be coincidence or because domesticated ferrets were bred
for rabbit hunting, and spend more time in the dark than the polecat
counterpart, where color vision is less important.  Ferrets also have an
extended juvenile behavioral phase compared to polecats.
 
Some differences that have at times been labeled significant but are
probably not include the gregarious behavior to the ferret compared to the
solitary behavior of the polecat.  I think this probably has a lot to do
with confinement; feral ferrets revert to a solitary existence.  Some of the
muscular changes probably are due to cage confinement and lack of work; a
fat polecat simply will not make it in the wild; this may also influence the
development of the skeletal system.  Also reported are hearing differences,
some slight jaw changes, and extra teeth, all consistent with the
domestication process in general.
 
So what you have is an animal that has evolved from an ancestor species, in
this case, probably the European polecat.  The selective force behind that
evolution was human rather than natural, but the end result is the same; a
species uniquely adapted to a specific environment and job.  In this case,
helping humans hunt rabbits.  In other words, to ruin a great song, ferrets
are not "Born to be Wild;" they are born to scare wascalwee wabbits out of
their burrows so people can catch and eat them.
 
The understanding of the similarities and differences between the polecat
and ferret are vital in our ability to determine if the feret can become
feral in the United States.  The next post will address that issue, as well
as why the ferret can be feral in parts of Europe and New Zealand, but that
is not reasonable evidence they can in the USA.
 
Bob C and 20 MO Fur-pops
[Posted in FML issue 2085]