Been a nasty week by any standards. Car wreak. Need I say more?
Q: Bill asked, "In my typical manner of making life hard on you. I agree
ferrets seem to be only domesticated polecats especially cool climate ones.
But what about striped zorillas, striped polecats, and North African Striped
Polecat. These are the suckers that most remind of of 'Murrican Polekitties
(skunks)."
A: What have you been doing, reading "Obscure Animals of the World?" Well,
you're right, there are some polecat-like mustelids in Africa. However,
these babies are _NOT_ polecats (which is why I didn't mention them.)
Zorillas look and act very similar to the run of the mill skunk; black and
white, flat triangular head, and stink. The zorilla is also sometimes
called the "Striped Polecat," and goes by the Latin binomial _Ictonyx
striatus_. There is a single species that ranges from about the Sudan to
the South Africa area. The use of polecat within the common name does not
(by any means) illustrate a close relationship to the European and steppe
polecats of Europe. It refers to the skunk-like habit to stinking up the
place (North American skunks are also called polecats, BTW). This animal
does not look like our ferrets in coloration nor body shape.
There are two other animals, the "North African Striped Weasel"
(_Poecilictis libyca_) and the "African Striped Weasel" (_Poecilogale
albinucha_), both sometimes refered to as polecats. These animals are
similar in size to weasels (about 1/3 to 1/2 the size and weight of the
average polecat), and are similar in color to the zorilla. Both animals are
more ferret-like than the zorilla; about halfway between a ferret and a
skunk in body shape and proportions. The North African striped weasel is
limited to the edges of the Sahara, and is reported to be quite agressive
toward people. The African striped weasel is found from Zaire and Uganda to
South Africa. If is the larger of the two; roughly 10-20%. Both are
somewhat rare within their range, but not endangered.
None of these three animals could possibly be the ancestor of the ferret,
which is ultimately what we are talking about. The genetics are wrong, the
osteology is really wrong, teeth and skull are different, etc. These
animals are in a different subgenera than weasels (the weasel subgenera
include weasels, polecats/ferrets, and mink), and share characteristics with
both weasels and skunks. While argument exists as to the exact ancestor of
the ferret, it would either be the steppe or the European polecat, with bets
being on the later.
As for the tales of the Egyptian ferret being one of these three animals,
well, there is a better chance of that by far than for the ferret. But who
cares? They are not ancestral to the ferret, so even if some attempt was
made to domesticate them, it would have no more bearing on our problem than
the domestication of the horse. And even if some attempt was made, it
didn't work, because none of the three are currently domesticated. They are
a dead end, ferret origin-wise.
In reference to the ferret mentioned by Strabo in the 1st century AD, the
word he used meant "ferret." He knew what a ferret was, what it looked like
and how they were used. I suspect his reference to Lybia was to the
Phonecians, whom I suspect traded our little guys all over the Med, up the
Spanish coast, and possibly into Britian. Ferrets are well known for
rabbiting, but they used to be equally well known for ratting; they were
used on sailing ships until a few hundred years ago for just that purpose.
I think ferrets were used to control rodents aboard the early Med sailing
ships, which would explain their sudden appearence in Rome and Greece.
Remember cats were uncommon and unpopular at the time (Cats never really
became popular in Europe until the black plague hit a few times; until then
they were often burned at the stake, hung, and generally killed.)
Oh, Bill? Next time ask a tough question. You didn't make my life hard
enough with this one...
Bob and the 19 Dooks of Oil (Ferretone that is; ferret gold)
[Posted in FML issue 1682]
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