I think we discussed if the "feral ferrets" on some islands outside Italy and the British Isles were ferrets or polecat-ferret hybrids. The book _D{ggdjur, Alla Europas arter_, 1985, (Mammals, all European species) by Anders Bj{rvall says quite clearly that they are hybrids. Unless you count the mink (which used to be called American river-polecat in Sweden), the book only lists four European polecats, so I guess that means I don't have to be sorry I can never remember the Latin name for the Mediterranean polecat. It says that the origin of the ferret is unclear, and that it sometimes is considered a species, M. furo, sometimes a subspecies, either M. putorius furo or M. eversmanni furo. -- Urban Fredriksson [log in to unmask] Pictures of my four ferrets: http://www.ki.icl.se/urf/urf_ferr.htm or ftp.sunet.se /pub/pictures/animals }] = aA with a small ring, {[ = aA with two dots, |\ = oO with two dots [Posted in FML issue 1049]