Ferret

The ferret, Mustela furo, is a small domesticated mustelid, most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat, as shown by its ability to interbreed with polecats and produce hybrid offspring. Like other mustelids it has a long slender body; including the tail the average length is about 50 centimetres, it weighs 0.7 to 2.0 kilograms, and its fur can be black, brown, white or a mixture of those colours, with males considerably larger than females. Ferrets may have been domesticated since ancient times, though written accounts are sparse and inconsistent, and scholars agree they were bred for sport, hunting rabbits in a practice known as rabbiting. In North America the ferret has become an increasingly prominent household pet, with over five million in the United States alone, and the legality of ownership varies by location. In New Zealand and some other countries restrictions apply because feral colonies of polecat and ferret hybrids have damaged native fauna. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, are crepuscular, and have served as research animals in neuroscience and in influenza research.