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
European polecat mentions an exceptional case in which three polecats attacked a baby in Hesse. During the winter period, when live prey is scarce, the European polecat may raid beehives and feed on the honey. The polecat may be preyed upon by red foxes, and both wild and domestic cats. Although the polecat can coexist with the European mink (though there is one record of a polecat attacking a European mink and dragging it to its burrow), it suffers in areas where the invasive American mink also occurs, as the latter species feeds on the same mammalian species as the polecat much