European polecat populations. Compared to other British carnivores, such as otters and badgers, the polecat has received little exposure in popular media. A study conducted on rural school children showed only 3.8% of the surveyed children could identify polecats in photographs, whereas 83.7% correctly identified otters. A caged polecat appears as a key character of Saki's short story "Sredni Vashtar". European polecat The European polecat ("Mustela putorius") – also known as the common ferret, black or forest polecat, or fitch (as well as some other names) – is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and north Morocco. It is of
Steppe polecat polecat is a nomadic animal which typically only settles in one area until its prey, mainly ground squirrels, are extirpated. It mates from March to May, and generally gives birth to litters of three to six kits, which attain their full growth at the age of two years. It hunts for larger prey than the European polecat, including pikas and marmots. The earliest true polecat was "Mustela stromeri", which appeared during the late Villafranchian. It was considerably smaller than the present form, thus indicating polecats evolved at a relatively late period. The steppe polecat's closest relatives are the European polecat