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Ferret

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The ferret is a domestic animal thought to be native to Europe. The ferret is thought to be a subspecies of polecat and the ferret has the same long shaped body as a polecat and a weasel.

The ferret is thought to have been domesticated around 2,500 years ago, which is roughly the same time that a number of animals such as the donkey and goat were put to domestic use. The ferret is used to help farmers hunt out rabbits and the ferret does this by crawling into the rabbit burrows, with the ferret using its incredibly shaped flexible body to its advantage as a ferret is often small than many rabbits. The rabbit is scared out of the burrow by the invading ferret and uses one of the many burrow exits to get away from the ferret intruder.

Today the ferret is becoming an increasingly popular pet worldwide, due to the small size of the ferret and its quiet temperament. There are laws about ferret restrictions in a number of countries, to try and prevent the ferret from becoming a pest, as ferrets can be fairly destructive if released into the wild particularly if the ferret is not native to the country in question.

Most ferrets spend an average of 18 hours asleep every day and it has been noted that ferrets sleep for about six hours at a time before waking up to play and eat and the ferret will generally return it its next sleeping section after an hour or so. Ferrets have also been observed being most active at dusk and dawn when it is not fully light or dark.

Ferrets are renowned for playing their own version of hide and seek, which is particularly noticeable with those ferrets that are kept as pets. Although it is not certain exactly what the ferret will hide, owners have reported finding secret stashes of anything from toys to remote controls and keys, and even bags of of onions and slices of pizza.

Ferrets are small carnivorous mammals and therefore a pet ferrets diet should mainly consist of meat. In the wild, ferrets will mainly hunt mice and small rabbits and sometimes, the ferret will be lucky enough to feed on a small bird.

Ferret Comments (1)

brooke .k

"compard to other websites you have tons of informatoin."

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Ferret Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Carnivora
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Mustelidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Mustela

Scientific Name:	Mustela Putorius Furo
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (L):	40cm - 50cm (18in - 21in)
Weight:	0.7kg - 2kg (1.5lbs - 4lbs)
Top Speed:	25km/h (15mph)
Life Span:	7 - 10 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Threatened

Colour:	Brown, Black, Tan, Grey
Skin Type:	Fur
Favourite Food:	Mice
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Forest and grasslands
Average Litter Size:	4
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Mice, Rabbit, Gophers
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Owls, Foxes, Badgers
Distinctive Features:	Long thin body and large eyes

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