Ferret wild (ordinary): photo, what is dangerous. Wild forest ferret - what it eats and how it lives Wild ferret attack on people

10 warnings for beginner ferret breeders. The first thing you need to remember about risk is that even one single mistake can cost your ferret its life! Be careful! This can save your pet's life.

Windows and doors.

Locks won't help! It has long been known that ferrets can push them away, open a window and fall out. Make sure all windows and doors are closed when your ferret is out and about. It only takes one minute for a ferret to escape! Also, watch your feet when closing doors so you don't pinch your ferret.

Plants.

Ferrets are burrowing animals by nature, and this carries some dangers. Some soils and plants can be poisonous to them. Even if the plant is not poisonous to the ferret, it can cause blockage in the gastrointestinal tract, because. The ferret's digestive tract is not designed to digest vegetation. Make sure everything houseplants are out of their reach.

Electrical sockets and cords.

Protect everything electrical devices the way you would do it small child. Buy plastic covers for cords and plugs, they are freely available in computer stores. Make sure they are snug and tight. As an additional precaution, cover the outlet with a special cover.

Electrical cords and computer cables are a very dangerous source of entertainment for ferrets. Try removing those cords. You can tie them together with telephone wires and hang them high enough that the ferret can't reach them. Also keep an eye on cords from lamps, irons, and other heavy objects. Pulling on the cord can cause the ferret to drop the object on itself, causing severe injury or even death.

Rubber.

Something rubbery is sure to get your ferret's attention. The rubber product can be swallowed and cause blockage of the intestines, which can result in an expensive operation and, if not lucky, lethal outcome. Make it so that the ferret does not have free access to rubber things, be careful with rubber parts on the doors, even an ordinary shoe insole or rug at the door or in the bathroom can be dangerous. Veterinarians say that it is rubber things that cause the blockage, the number of rubber parts removed from ferrets is much greater than any other.

Furniture.

Unfortunately, a safe life is not for ferrets. Even ordinary furniture can be for them deadly danger. Several ferrets have already been hurt by climbing into the interior of sofas or chairs that unsuspecting owners sit on. Ferrets can crawl on interior floors and upholstery, which is very dangerous for them. The host or guest sits, lies down, reclines, or disassembles/assembles the sofa, and the ferret inside can be crushed or pinched. To keep your pet safe, remove these sofas and chairs from your home, or place them in another room where the ferret can't access, or keep an eye on where your pet is at all times.

Heaters and fans.

Make sure they don't work when your ferret is running freely around the room. Ferrets can injure their little paws in the fan, and heaters can be knocked over by them, which can cause burns or a fire.

Shelves, drawers.

Ferrets often use shelves as steps to climb to higher ground. They can easily push back what seems to you to be firmly pushed back. You are better off using child locks on drawers, especially those where medicines or harmful chemicals are stored. Locks can also save you embarrassment if your ferret brings your underwear into the room while you are hosting. This has already happened!

Bin.

Any rubbish, whether in the kitchen or in the bathroom, must be removed. Ferrets will teach you to order! Leftover food, hazardous waste, paper, and more can kill your ferret. Even a simple video from toilet paper can become dangerous if the ferret sticks his head in there, he will not be able to free himself. store garbage containers in hard-to-reach places for ferrets.

Wash.

Ferrets are very fond of dirty laundry and washing machines. Check the laundry basket several times and washing machine and make sure your ferret isn't there before you hit start. Ferrets also love all kinds of pipes. Be careful not to let ferrets in where you wash.

Various dangers.

Even what seems unrealistic to you can happen to your ferret. It can be any crack or hole between the wall and the floor, any pipe where your ferret can get stuck. Ferrets, especially females, can climb curtains and clothes hanging on a hanger. Quite unexpectedly, you can find your pet behind the battery or floating in the toilet.

Be extremely careful and this can save the life of not only your ferret, but also yourself.

Used materials from the magazine "Ferrets" for 2003

Ferrets living in wild nature called forest. The forest ferret is the most predatory of the representatives of its order. The habitat of these animals is European part and North of Russia. The animal can be found in the forest thicket or on the edges. Ferrets also live in places near water. If the winter is cold, the animal can seasonally settle closer to human habitats.

wild ferret- small but dangerous predator

Where does the animal live

The black ferret does not go far into the forest, but prefers the edges and clearings, fields and areas with not very dense vegetation. Forest, says that most often the animal lives in the forest part of the country. The animal has a habit of becoming attached to one place, so it leads a sedentary lifestyle. The preferred place to live is in natural hiding places.

Ferrets live and sleep in burrows. Most often, a ferret pulls out a mink on its own. If for some reason this cannot be done, the animal occupies the hole of a hare or a fox.

The animal carefully approaches the preparation of the "bedroom". In the minks of ferrets, you can also find leaves of trees and grass. Most of the day, if the ferret's diet is rich in meat and there is enough food, the animal sleeps. If there is little food, then the animal travels long distances in search of food. These animals are solitary, in packs they can be found only during the mating season.

The ferret leads a solitary lifestyle

diet

Animals eat:

• Small rodents. Voles, hamsters, rats, gerbils, muskrats, mice, ground squirrels, ground squirrels, moles, water rats, rabbits, hares.
• Reptiles. The forest ferret is not averse to eating lizards and amphibians.
• Birds. The diet of the animal includes small birds, bird eggs and chicks. The forest ferret is always happy to lay eggs of birds that nest on the ground.
• Invertebrates. The black ferret will gladly eat worms and any insects.
• The minimum part in the diet of the animal is occupied by fruits and fish. If an animal needs fruit, then get nutrients of these he can by eating small herbivores. The stomach of the animal is not able to digest alimentary fiber plants, it can obtain nutrients by eating the contents of the stomachs of herbivores.

The animal goes hunting only at night, during the day it sleeps. But if the animal is tormented by severe hunger, then only this factor can make him hunt during the day. If it is not possible to find other food, the animal can eat carrion.

During the day, the ferret goes hunting only as a last resort.

Ferret Enemies

The animal has a lot natural enemies who dwell around his place of residence. Those who can harm the animal or eat it include:

1. Wolves and foxes. IN winter period foxes are not averse to eating not only small mice and rabbits, but also a ferret, because there is little food.
2. Birds. Night owls and owls, eagles or golden eagles.
3. Wild cats.
4. Large snakes.

Among those who can harm the animal, a special place is occupied by a person. The construction of houses in the wilderness and the destruction of nature reserves, their sale for the construction of roads, leads to the fact that a person destroys the habitat of the beast.

Hunting the animals that the forest ferret feeds on leads to its forced relocation or starvation.

Foxes prey on ferrets, especially in winter

black ferret

The black forest ferret is found in some forests of Russia, England, and is less common in North West Africa.

The black forest ferret has short and strong paws, and is stocky. Each paw has five toes with long and sharp claws. In the wild, the black ferret is very mobile, and anatomically, its body is designed in such a way that the animal can penetrate narrow holes. One fourth of the animal's body is occupied by its tail. It is less fluffy compared to other members of the mustelid order. The eyes are small, the iris is brown.

The color of the animal can be either lighter than usual, or much darker.

Most often, people dislike the black ferret for the fact that the animal raids the household. If there is not enough natural food in the wild, the beast may begin to steal poultry and rabbits.

Wild ferrets have a variety of colors

In the wild, the animal is fast, agile and angry. But the ferret is not as fast a representative of the genus as weasel or ermine. An adult is quite capable of catching up with a fleeing animal, but it is not recommended to do this because when a threat approaches, the animal uses a defensive reaction. Defending itself, the animal sprays a strongly odorous liquid into the snout of the enemy, consisting of the secretion of the anal glands.

In the wild, the animal lives from two to five years, depending on the availability and quantity of food. When domesticated, the beast can live up to fifteen years, with proper care.

The black fur with white tan of this animal is quite beautiful and valuable. But due to the small number of animals, fur production is not carried out. Distinctive feature animal is a mask on the muzzle.

A domesticated type of ferret, specially bred and decorative, is called a ferret. Most often, these hybridizations of the forest and steppe ferret. Among decorative individuals, there may be cases of the appearance of albinos - white ferrets.

In fact, these animals with a chic fur coat from the weasel family, despite their small size - adult ferrets weigh about two kilograms - are predators, and in the wild they feed on small rodents.

“However, those ferrets that live at home are not caught in the forest, but are specially bred for keeping at home,” explains Heleri Haiba, who organized an association of ferret lovers in Estonia. - Domesticated ferrets can be trained in the same way as dogs and cats. And in Lately ferrets are becoming more and more popular pets.”

Not bad animals at all.
Haiba has been breeding ferrets for years, so who better than her to know that, contrary to popular belief, ferrets are not at all evil animals, although they look like rats that only do what they bite, and therefore for home maintenance not very suitable.

“Firstly, a rat is a rodent, and a ferret is a predator, and there is nothing in common between them,” Khaiba explains, adding that ferrets, of course, bite, but only puppies sin with this, who, like any cubs, want to play, and they still do not know the boundaries that cannot be crossed in communication with the owners. “Puppies bite because they are used to playing with their peers that way.”

In addition, ferrets have not only beautiful fur, but also a very strong skin, and when they play with each other, they do not feel bites, but they can cause significant pain to a person with their sharp teeth.

According to Heleri, whose pets love being stroked and allowed to sleep in their arms, the “biting period” lasts only a few months, and puppies quickly learn not to use their teeth when playing with a person.

“If that were the case, then no one would dare to keep ferrets at home,” she notes, explaining that animals do not always smell. - Animals secrete a secret with a characteristic and strong unpleasant odor only during the rut.

Neutered and neutered animals do not smell, and under the right conditions and hygiene, no smell is felt at home.

While breeding ferrets, Heleri Haiba never, according to her, came across dangerous situations, but still, if there are children in the family, then you should not leave the animals unattended. Female ferrets, protecting offspring, can be dangerous for them.
True, in the family of Heleri herself, small children, two Dalmatian dogs, and ferrets get along well with each other.

Playing games constantly
“Ferrets do well in families with dogs and cats,” she says. “A ferret, having got into the family as a puppy, quickly gets used to all family members, including animals, but whether they get along with each other depends on the nature of the dog or cat.”

Since young ferrets are very playful and constantly play games, they can tire adult dogs and cats with their activity. The owners will have to make sure that all pets become friends, constantly pay attention to them and “reward” them for good behavior.

“Ferrets react very painfully if they are not given enough attention, left alone for a long time - then by their behavior they make it clear that they do not agree with this,” says Khaiba. - Ferrets perfectly distinguish between their own and others, and they do not treat strangers in the best way. But a well-bred ferret is very friendly, he always greets his family when they come home, attracts attention, and is generally fun to live with.

“They love opening doors and drawers, climbing in, digging out flower pots, throwing things off the table, and they love to hide what they like,” Haiba says, adding that those who decide to get a ferret can be advised to take care of it in advance to remove anything that could pose a danger to the animal. “Fortunately, unlike dogs, they don’t gnaw on table legs and other furniture, and they don’t have claws like cats do.”

The owners will have to make some efforts to make the ferret a full-fledged member of the family and a pet. He certainly needs to be trained, encouraging sweets.
“A ferret is not a dog that immediately understands and remembers everything.

In order for the ferret to remember what is required of him, he will have to repeat it more than once, notes Heleri Haiba. “In fact, ferrets do not have any strong motivation to be obedient, but they can still be taught something by encouraging them with sweets and a kind word.”

ferret is prominent representative predatory mammals from the Kuni family. This agile and agile creature with an extraordinary mind has won many fans around the world. Ferrets were domesticated a very long time ago, they have been living side by side with humans for many centuries and benefiting them. No less interesting are the wild individuals of this family that live on several continents of our planet.

Ferret Description

Despite the fact that there are several varieties of ferrets, they are very close to each other. However, each species has its own set of individual features and characteristics.

Appearance

The ferret is a small, graceful and flexible animal.. The legs of the animal are disproportionately short, but muscular and powerful due to its extraordinary mobility. These creatures are considered to be excellent swimmers, and their extended claws help them climb trees and dig holes.

The color of ferrets can vary from light to almost black, and the legs and tail are most often darker than the rest of the body. The spots on the muzzle fold into a pattern resembling a mask. Fur in animals is fluffy and relatively long; at the base hairline much lighter than at the ends.

This is interesting! In autumn, at the end of the molting period, the fur of the animals acquires shine and becomes very beautiful.

Males are slightly larger than females and reach a length of 50-60 centimeters. A distinctive feature of ferrets is a long fluffy tail.

Lifestyle and behavior

Since ferrets are nocturnal predators, they are active mainly at night. This applies equally to both wild and domestic. These are sedentary animals, tied to their habitats, they leave their homes only by force.

Animals live in burrows dug by themselves, which they equip with the help of leaves and tufts of grass. If, for some reason, ferrets cannot provide themselves with shelter, they occupy an empty hole of a suitable size, for example, a fox. In a particularly cold season, they can move closer to human habitation and live in barns or basements.

It happens that ferrets appear in villages and villages in search of food. Such visits do great harm. local residents- predators kill poultry out of a desire to feed themselves or just for fun. Ferrets lead an active lifestyle. Mobile by nature, during waking hours they do not sit still for a second. However, their behavior may differ depending on the gender. Females are more playful and more trainable, their intellectual abilities are higher. Males are more phlegmatic and affectionate to humans.

How long do ferrets live?

The life expectancy of animals varies depending on the conditions environment. In the wild, ferrets live only 2-3 years due to the many dangers that await them everywhere.

Important! Such longevity is possible only under conditions proper nutrition and animal health care.

At home, with proper care, the animal can live much longer - 5-8 years. There are cases when individual individuals reached a dozen or more years, but this is usually rare.

In the wild, only three types of ferrets are distinguished - black, steppe and black-footed. The fourth variety, the ferret, is domesticated and is found everywhere.

• Steppe, or white. Ferret is considered the most major representative of his family. The maximum live weight of males can reach two kilograms; it is noteworthy that females are almost not inferior to them in size, but weigh half as much. The body length is 50-60 cm. The animal has a long, but not too thick coat, which is why a thick down is clearly visible through it. White ferrets are predominantly light in color, only paws and the tip of the tail can be black.
• black-footed ferret. In another way called American, it is much smaller than its white relative and weighs a little more than a kilogram. It is yellowish-brown in color, the back, legs and part of the tail are much darker compared to the rest of the body. The ears are large, rounded, the paws are very short and thick.
• Black, or forest. The ferret is of medium size - the approximate weight of males is one and a half kilograms. Just like other members of the weasel family, it has a slender, elongated body and small paws. The most common color is black and brown, but there are red and even white individuals. The back of the animal is lighter, the legs and tail are darker.
• fretka considered to be a decorative ferret, specially bred by man. It is slightly smaller than its steppe counterpart, and some individuals even surpass it in size. The shade of wool can vary and be almost anything. By itself, the fur of the animal is thick and very fluffy.

Range, habitats

All three wild varieties are found in Eurasia, North America and the northwestern part of the African continent. Steppe ferret has chosen open area and avoids mountains, forests, crowded places. It can be found in the steppe or semi-desert regions of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China, some regions of Europe and Asia.

Important! The ferret is not found in the wild. The soft nature of the animal and the lack of hunting skills simply will not allow him to survive in such conditions.

The black ferret, on the other hand, prefers forests, ravines and the banks of water bodies, sometimes settlements. He does not go too far into the thicket, being content with edges and areas with sparse vegetation. Its habitat is Europe and part of Africa. Their black-footed relative lives in forests and prairies North America. It is also found in the mountains, where it climbs several thousand meters above sea level.

ferret diet

The ferret is a carnivorous animal, the main part of its diet is meat. Under natural conditions, he can eat:

• insects. On occasion, the animal does not refuse earthworms and other invertebrates.
• reptiles. Hunting for lizards or snakes, including poisonous ones, does not cause any special difficulties for the ferret.
• Rodents. Moreover, the size of prey can be very different, from field mice to rabbits and hares.
• birds. The ferret eats both adult birds and chicks and eggs. He will never pass by a nest or masonry.

The share of fish and fruits in the diet of the animal is almost reduced to zero. Digestive system The animal is not adapted to plant fibers, and it can obtain all the necessary elements by eating the stomachs of small mammals.

This is interesting! Just like some other animals, the ferret stores food in the cold. The obtained food is stored in a secluded place until the worst of times.

The ferret hunts only at night, but severe hunger can force him to leave the hole in daytime. In the event that it is not possible to catch prey, the animal may begin to feed on carrion.

natural enemies

There are a lot of enemies living with a ferret in the same territory. Some of them are capable of causing serious harm, while others can even be eaten.

• Large predators such as foxes and wolves. In the warm season, they rarely choose a ferret as a victim, but with the onset of cold weather they become less picky about food.
• Birds of prey such as night owls or golden eagles. A small animal for them is an excellent prey.
• Wild cats also do not bypass ferrets.
• Large snakes. They can attack, despite the fact that they are not always able to cope with a nimble animal.

Another dangerous enemy of the ferret is man. It harms both directly and indirectly - by extermination, the construction of roads, the settlement of previously untouched territories.

This is interesting! To defend against enemies, the ferret emits a pungent odor from anal glands near the base of the tail.

All this leads to the fact that the animal dies or leaves its habitats to find new ones. The destruction of the animals that make up the ferret's food threatens its existence no less.