Ferrets
Mustela furo
Appearance
- 48 - 56cm in length including tails.
- They have cream coloured undercoat with long dark tipped hairs.
- They life span usually falls between 2 -4 years in the wild.
Lifecycle
- Mating during August and September is vigorous, noisy and prolonged
- They average have 4 - 8 young per litter
- At 3 months of age they disperse away from the home territory
- Large influxes of juveniles are often observed in late summer/autumn.
Habits
- Ferrets are largely nocturnal.
- In a open environment they pray on rabbits and ground nesting birds like kiwis.
- Ferrets live in pasture, rough grassland and scrubland, and on the fringes of forests.