Dressing ferret belongs to the predators of the marten family, is listed in the Red Book, is the only species of its kind. For the beauty and originality of the coloring of wool, they are called "marble ferrets" or crossings.
Ferret ligation: description, characteristic
Outwardly, the dressing or rebound resembles a miniature ferret, the literal translation of the Latin name (vormela peregusna) means “little worm”. His muzzle is slightly rounded, his ears are large with a white rim. The physique in shape is characteristic of the Kunih family: an elongated narrow body and short legs. Its main difference is a beautiful original motley color of coarse fur, consisting of alternating white, black and yellow spots on a brown background.
As you can see from the photo and description, the ferret ligation looks very nice animal. Its body is 27-38 cm long, its tail is up to 17-20 cm, the weight of an adult animal is 350-750 g. The muzzle is black in color, a snow-white strip resembling a sling passes over the eyes, for which it was given such a name. Around the mouth there is a large white-beige spot, and the neck is decorated with 3 bright stripes. The back is covered with a complex pattern of multi-colored spots and stripes, the fluffy tail is also beautifully colored: at the base it is red-brown, turns into light gray, at the end it is black-brown. Chest and legs are black.
Dressing ferrets live in nature for 6-7 years, sometimes up to 9 in a zoo.
The character of the dressing is combat, when attacked by enemies, he first escapes on a tree, and with an immediate threat he arches his back, heaves up his coat, shows his teeth, tilting his head back. A terrifying look is confirmed by a growl, screech and chemical attack: the animal rushes and releases fetid liquid from special anal glands from under the tail.
Distribution area
The ferret ligation lives in the southeastern part of Europe, Asia, and in some regions of China. In Russia, animals are found in the south of the European part (Krasnodar Territory, etc.), in Altai and Ciscaucasia. Also, cross-sections live in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Transcaucasia and the steppes of Central Asia.
The main area of residence is open steppe spaces, treeless, sometimes covered with bushes, the outskirts of forests, river valleys, forest-steppe and semi-desert plains. Occasionally there are chori-dressings in the mountains up to an altitude of 3 km, are found in city parks and squares, and often settle near the melon.
The places of residence are chosen by other animals in the finished holes, sometimes they dig them on their own, using paws with long claws and teeth to remove stones. In the daytime they sit in a shelter, and change it daily.
On the territory of the CIS there are 2 types of dressings (typical and Trans-Caspian), slightly different in the coloring of wool.
Nutrition and lifestyle
The ferret-ligation lifestyle is characterized by evening activity, so in nature it is hardly noticeable. The predator hunts more often underground, occasionally in trees. The main food is small rodents: mouse voles, hamsters, jerboas, ground squirrels, gerbils. Sometimes he eats eggs of birds, berries, likes to feast on plant foods: gourds, fruits of shrubs (rose hips, thorns, grapes, hawthorn).
Crossbreeds are hunted on their own territory with an area of 10-30 ha, in search of prey for a day, the animal can go through underground passages up to 600 m, focusing on its sense of smell. Cases of joint hunting for dressing gerbils with foxes are known. Moreover, during ground hunting, animals can jump up to 60 cm in length.
Meeting each other, dressings show aggression, but more often they live each in their territory, spending the night in their next hole.
Reproduction of dressings
Scientists have little information about the reproduction of the ferret. Active mating in couples occurs in the summer. It is known that the female’s pregnancy lasts up to 11 months, which is associated with the intrauterine development of the egg, which begins to develop only a few months after fertilization.
In the litter 3-8 blind cubs weighing 3-4 g are born, which occurs from February to March. Their first coat has a light beige color, not like an adult color, but the future pattern of the coat is visible on dark skin. Toddlers feed on mother’s milk for 40-50 days and develop rapidly, and then their training in hunting begins.
Puberty in young dressings occurs: in females - in 3 months., In males - in a year.
Captivity
Some cases of keeping chorea dressings in European and Russian zoos are known. Zverkov successfully bred in the Leningrad and Rostov zoos.
This animal is wild in nature, but is well tamed. Some lovers keep them at home. Due to the high activity of the animals, they need a spacious cage or aviary. To get rid of the unpleasant odor, they remove the anal glands painlessly. Young captives can be fed a mixture of milk and a raw egg.
