to:  Cheryl M. Forbis
 
It is possible to have white or albino polecat, however it is very rare.
Albinos have a much lower success rate in the wild, due to their lack of
camouflage, which makes them easy prey to other predatory animals.  Wild
albinos are also, in many cases less healthy than that there counterparts.
These factors, like you said, make breeding very difficult, so they are
unable to pass on there gene code to the next generation.  Although
European polecats(Mustela putorius) are very similar to our Domestic
ferrets(Mustela furo), and can be crossbred, there are physical and genetic
differences, which do separate the two.  The same is true for our Domestic
ferrets and the Steppe Polecat(Mustela eversmanni).
 
 
                                Dan
[Posted in FML issue 1289]