# Ferrets vs. polecats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257 "2006-06-11T01:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/1 "2006-06-11T01:04:06Z")
Greetings. What is the difference between the wild European polecat (_Mustela putorius_) and the domestic ferret (_M. p. furo_)? I’ve seen [pictures of polecats](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ilder.jpg), and to me they look identical to sable ferrets. They seem to be about the same size, too. Apart from the fact that ferrets have been bred for different coat colours, is there any physical difference between the two animals? How about tempermentally? I expect that polecats wouldn’t be as affectionate or controllable as ferrets, since they don’t have thousands of years of selective breeding for docile behaviour, but just how unfriendly or vicious would one be if it were raised by humans as a pet? ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/2 "2006-06-11T02:31:16Z")
Here is a [Report](http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/info/bm_research/bm_pdfrpts/97_03.pdf#search='M.%20p.%20furo') done for the state of California’s Game and WIldlife Dept. It basically says they’re one and the same. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/3 "2006-06-11T03:46:53Z")
> [@RetroVertigo](#): > > Here is a [Report](http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/info/bm_research/bm_pdfrpts/97_03.pdf#search='M.%20p.%20furo') done for the state of California’s Game and WIldlife Dept. It basically says they’re one and the same. The report says no such thing. It’s not even a report – it’s just a bibliography with abstracts. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/4 "2006-06-11T05:01:35Z")
Quotes from a few of the abstracts > [@](#): > > The ferret is the domesticated form of the polecat. There is still a debate as to wether it is derived from the European (Mustela putorius putorius) or the steppe polecat ( M. eversmanni) … some authorities regard them as a form of the subspecies M. putorius. > [@](#): > > The ferret, Mustela putorius furo L., is an albinotic, domesticated form of the polecat > [@](#): > > The ferret has long been considered a domesticated fitch (polecat) There are a few more but they pretty much say the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![merrily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@merrily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrily)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/5 "2006-06-11T13:12:38Z")
A user-friendly pictoral discussion: [http://www.britishferretclub.co.uk/meettherelatives.htm](http://www.britishferretclub.co.uk/meettherelatives.htm) More detailed version: [http://www.practical-pet-care.com/article\_view.php?ver=9](http://www.practical-pet-care.com/article_view.php?ver=9) Note that there are two contenders for ferret ancestors, one that looks like the sable, and one that looks more like the cinnamon: (more academic) [http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0412&L=ferret-search&T=0&P=46846](http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0412&L=ferret-search&T=0&P=46846) (more on chromosomes in similar species [term used loosely by me]: [http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0502&L=ferret-search&T=0&P=13891](http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0502&L=ferret-search&T=0&P=13891) –Merrily, domesticated by 3 ferrets ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/6 "2006-06-11T16:38:29Z")
> [@RetroVertigo](#): > > Quotes from a few of the abstracts > There are a few more but they pretty much say the same thing. Yes, and none of these quotes say, as you contend, that a ferret is the same thing as a polecat. No one in their right mind would say that dogs and wolves are identical just because the former is descended from the latter, so why do you claim this for ferrets and polecats? ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ferrets-vs-polecats/360257/7 "2006-06-11T18:19:32Z")
I’m sorry for my original post. It should have said that they’re **taxonomically** one and the same. The difference being that they have domesticated just like your example between wolves and dogs.