Ferret
Scientific name
Mustela furo
Size and weight
50cm long from head to tail on average. 0.7 to 2 kg
Diet
Small mammals
Conservation status
Least concern
Native habitat
Ferrets’ wild ancestors are native to lowland areas of North Africa and western Eurasia
Lifespan
7 to 10 years
Meet our ferrets
Our ferrets are a lively bunch. Their names are Trouble (our male), Jitters, Dizzy, Mischief and Mayhem. They like to go out for walks on their harnesses and regularly join the Education team to meet school groups and visitors. When they’re not out and about you can find them scurrying around in their enclosure, exploring buckets and tunnels, or else crashed out in one of the hammocks having a well-earned snooze!
About ferrets
Ferrets are members of the mustelid family alongside weasels, stoats, otters, badgers and wolverines. They are thought to have been domesticated from European polecats. Most ferrets are either albinos, with white fur and pink eyes, or they look more like their wild polecat ancestors with dark fur and a little bandit-style mask on their faces.
They love to sleep and will happily snooze for 14 to 18 hours a day. Unlike their more solitary ancestors, ferrets are pretty social and usually enjoy hanging out in groups.
When they get excited they perform a ‘weasel war dance’, hopping and leaping about. They also make a cute little clucking sound called “dooking” when they’re happy.
Did you know?
their scientific name comes from the Latin “furritus” meaning “little thief”
when they were first domesticated, they were often used for hunting – their long flexible spines mean they can easily slip through tunnels and dens to find rabbits
- during WWII ferrets were used to protect crops from rodents. Being obligate carnivores, they would hunt the rats but leave the crops alone
a group of ferrets is called a busines
