---
title: "What the sources say about the European Polecat | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "37 claims from the European Polecat profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-polecat/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the European Polecat (*Mustela putorius*)

> 37 claims from the European Polecat profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Polecat](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-polecat/)

## Polecat. Vincent Wildlife Trust.

https://www.vwt.org.uk/species/polecat/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Farmland hedgerows, marshes, riverbanks and woodland edges in lowland Europe | Polecats prefer lowland habitats, such as farmlands, woodlands, marshes and riverbanks. (note: hedgerows and woodland edges: vwt-polecat also says "more numerous in lowland landscapes with hedgerows and woodland edges") |
| from Britain and Portugal east to the Ural Mountains | Polecats have a wide distribution across Europe, from Britain and Portugal in the west to the Ural Mountains of Russia in the east, but they have never been found in Ireland. |
| Mostly rabbits, plus rats, small mammals, birds, amphibians, eggs and insects | Mostly wild rabbits but also rats, small mammals, amphibians, birds and earthworms. (note: eggs and insects also in ADW's Animal Foods list (birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, eggs, insects)) |
| A European polecat has a long, slim body on short legs | The polecat has a long slim body, with short legs and is slightly larger than a domestic ferret. |
| males measure 33 to 45 centimetres and females 32 to 39, plus a 12 to 19 centimetre tail | Size: Males 33-45cm, females 32-39cm; tail length: 12-19cm. |
| males weigh around 0.8 to 1.9 kilograms against females at 0.5 to 1.1 | Weight: Males weigh around 0.8-1.9kg, females 0.5-1.1kg. |
| A raccoon-like dark mask crosses its eyes between pale cheek patches and a pale muzzle | It has a distinctive 'mask' of dark fur across its eyes. Paler cheek patches should contrast against the dark facial mask, and the fur around the muzzle is also pale (note: "raccoon-like" is ADW's: "Polecats have a raccoon-like dark mask around their eyes") |
| a paler buff undercoat shows through the darker hairs on its body | True polecats have dark fur, with a paler buff coloured undercoat that shows through the darker hairs on the body. |
| Its domesticated descendant, the ferret, is slightly smaller | The polecat has a long slim body, with short legs and is slightly larger than a domestic ferret. (note: "domesticated descendant" is ADW's: "Their domesticated descendant, the household ferret") |
| In summer, rabbits are a major food source, and a polecat is slender enough to hunt them inside their burrows; in winter, rats become a favoured food | In summer, rabbits are a major food source, and polecats are slender enough to hunt them within their burrows. In winter, rats become a favoured food and sites with good rat populations become usual habitats. |
| A polecat may squeeze through a gap as small as 4 centimetres | Polecats may squeeze through gaps as small as 4cm |
| The domestic ferret originates from the European polecat, and the two can still interbreed, producing fertile hybrids known as polecat-ferrets. Hybrids often have paler fur and faded facial markings | The domestic ferret originates from the polecat and the two can interbreed producing fertile hybrid offspring, known as polecat-ferrets. Hybrids often have paler fur and faded facial markings. |
| Slender enough to hunt rabbits inside their burrows | polecats are slender enough to hunt them within their burrows (note: vibe.reason (settle #880)) |
| a polecat can squeeze through a gap as small as 4 centimetres | Polecats may squeeze through gaps as small as 4cm (note: vibe.reason (settle #880)) |

## Mustela putorius (European polecat). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mustela_putorius/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A masked mustelid that releases a strong-smelling secretion when threatened | Polecats have a raccoon-like dark mask around their eyes, surrounded by a white face accented with white-tipped ears. Like all mustelids, polecats have a pair of anal glands that emit a strong-smelling secretion. When polecats are excited or threatened they release some of the contents of these glands. (note: tagline) |
| grips so tenaciously it can be lifted by whatever is in its teeth | This gives the mustelids their amazing tenacity of grip during fights, hunting, and play. Polecats and ferrets can be lifted and suspended by whatever they are gripping with their teeth. (note: tagline; "so tenaciously" restates ADW's "amazing tenacity of grip", and the lifting is ADW's own sentence) |
| A key-lock jaw hinge whose grip is tenacious enough that it can be lifted and suspended by whatever it holds in its teeth, backed by a strong-smelling secretion from its anal glands when threatened | polecats display a "key-lock" formation of the jaw, where the articulation between the dentary and the rest of the skull is nearly sealed off into a permanent hinge and is very difficult to separate even after death. This gives the mustelids their amazing tenacity of grip during fights, hunting, and play. Polecats and ferrets can be lifted and suspended by whatever they are gripping with their teeth. (note: stats.superpower; the secretion half is the tagline's quote) |
| Polecats are primarily nocturnal | They are primarily nocturnal although females with young have been known to forage during the day. |
| Birds, eggs, amphibians and reptiles are on the menu too | Animal Foods birds mammals amphibians reptiles eggs insects terrestrial non-insect arthropods |
| and when food is scarce, insects and fruit | Should food become scarce, polecats also eat insects and fruit |
| Like other mustelids, a polecat has a "key-lock" jaw: the hinge between the lower jaw and the skull is nearly sealed into a permanent joint, very difficult to separate even after death | Like these other mustelids, polecats display a "key-lock" formation of the jaw, where the articulation between the dentary and the rest of the skull is nearly sealed off into a permanent hinge and is very difficult to separate even after death. (note: the dentary is the lower jaw) |
| It gives mustelids their tenacious grip, and polecats and ferrets can be lifted and suspended by whatever they are gripping with their teeth | This gives the mustelids their amazing tenacity of grip during fights, hunting, and play. Polecats and ferrets can be lifted and suspended by whatever they are gripping with their teeth. |
| Like all mustelids, a polecat has a pair of anal glands that emit a strong-smelling secretion, and it releases some of it when excited or threatened | Like all mustelids, polecats have a pair of anal glands that emit a strong-smelling secretion. When polecats are excited or threatened they release some of the contents of these glands. |
| Two anal glands, a feature all mustelids share. An excited or threatened polecat releases some of their strong-smelling contents | Like all mustelids, polecats have a pair of anal glands that emit a strong-smelling secretion. When polecats are excited or threatened they release some of the contents of these glands. |

## Mustela putorius. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Mustela_putorius

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In the wild a polecat lives about five to six years. One captive polecat lived 11.1 years, and anecdotal reports of 14 years in captivity remain unconfirmed | In the wild, these animals live about 5-6 years [ 0434 ]. One captive specimen lived 11.1 years [ 0671 ]. Anecdotal reports that these animals live up to 14 years in captivity remain unconfirmed [ 0001 ]. |
| weightKg: 0.8 | Adult weight 809 g (note: battleStats (settle #880)) |

## Lodé (2001). Mating system and genetic variance in a polygynous mustelid, the European polecat. Genes & Genetic Systems.

https://doi.org/10.1266/ggs.76.221

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Polecats show the strongest sexual dimorphism among mustelids, a gap that may come from strong mating competition among males | The polecat displays the strongest sexual dimorphism among mustelids and this dimorphism may be attributed to a strong mating competition among males (Poole, 1974) |

## Poole (1972). Some behavioural differences between the European polecat, Mustela putorius, the ferret, M. furo, and their hybrids. Journal of Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04073.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 1972 study of tame polecats, ferrets and their hybrids found that ferrets do not develop a fear of people. Hybrids did, like polecats, if left with their mother between 7½ and 8½ weeks of age | The animals used in this study were tame M. putorius, M. furo , wild caught hybrids and laboratory reared F 1 hybrids between the two species. Ferrets differed in their behaviour in unfamiliar environments and in the fact that they do not develop fear of man. The F 1 hybrids resembled M. putorius in that they develop a fear of man if left with their mother during a critical period between 7½ and 8½ weeks of age. (note: 1972 is the paper's publication year (bibliographic metadata), not a word in the abstract) |
| Polecats and hybrids also habituated to a rustling noise more rapidly than ferrets | The attention response to a rustling noise was investigated under controlled conditions revealing differences in response decrement between the four types of polecat. M. putorius and the hybrids habituated more rapidly to the sound than did the ferrets. |

## Lodé et al. (2004). Sex–biased predation by polecats influences the mating system of frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2004.0195

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Polecats don't hunt frogs at random. Studying agile frogs at their breeding ponds, researchers found that polecats preyed selectively on males | In agile frogs, Rana dalmatina, an increase in male-biased operational sex ratio and in male abundance results in the emergence of alternative male mating behaviour in the form of searching. As a consequence, females are coerced into mating with multiple males, which in turn increases the level of conflict between the sexes. Selective predation on males by the European polecat, Mustela putorius, decreases the occurrence of polyandry. (note: "breeding ponds": the abstract compares ponds by mating behaviour) |
| In ponds visited by polecats the sex ratio was less male-biased, fewer males actively searched for females, and females could choose between calling males and mate with just one, instead of being coerced into mating with several | females are coerced into mating with multiple males, which in turn increases the level of conflict between the sexes. Selective predation on males by the European polecat, Mustela putorius, decreases the occurrence of polyandry. In ponds visited by polecats, the sex ratio is less male biased than in ponds where polecats are absent. As a result most males call to attract females and fewer males actively search for females. Females are able to choose between calling males and mate with a single male. |
| Polecats preyed selectively on males, and ponds they visited saw less polyandry, where one female mates with several males | females are coerced into mating with multiple males, which in turn increases the level of conflict between the sexes. Selective predation on males by the European polecat, Mustela putorius, decreases the occurrence of polyandry. (note: "one female mates with several males" defines polyandry from the abstract's own "mating with multiple males") |

## Osinga, Thurfjell & Hofmeester (2022). Snow limits polecat Mustela putorius distribution in Sweden. Wildlife Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01051

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| seems held back from northern Sweden by snow | The number of snow days was the most important factor, negatively determining habitat suitability for polecats, as expected. Consequently, the predictions showed an increase in suitable habitat both in the current distribution range and in northern Sweden, especially along the coast of the Baltic Sea. Our results suggest that the polecat distribution is limited by snow (note: tagline; "seems" carries the source's "suggest") |
| Polecats occur over large parts of Europe, but their northern range limit lies in southern Fennoscandia, and what sets that limit was unknown | occurs over large parts of Europe with its northern range limit in southern Fennoscandia. However, it is to date unknown what factors limit polecat distribution. |
| A 2022 study tested whether climate or land-use factors matter more for polecat habitat in Sweden and found the number of snow days each year was the most important: more snow, less suitable habitat | We thus investigated whether climate or land‐use variables are more important in determining the habitat suitability for polecats in Sweden. We hypothesized that 1) climatic factors, especially the yearly number of snow days, drive habitat suitability for polecats, and that, 2) as the number of snow days is predicted to decline in the near future, habitat suitability in northern Sweden will increase. We used a combination of sightings data and a selection of national maps of environmental factors to test these hypotheses using Maxent models. We also used maps of future climate predictions (2021–2050 and 2063–2098) to predict future habitat suitability. The number of snow days was the most important factor, negatively determining habitat suitability for polecats, as expected. (note: 2022 is the paper's publication year (bibliographic metadata, from the cite command), not a word in the abstract) |
| How snow limits polecats is still poorly understood, but the authors suggest shrinking snow cover will likely push the range north. That might raise Scandinavia's polecat numbers, in contrast to many populations elsewhere in Europe, where numbers are declining | Our results suggest that the polecat distribution is limited by snow and that reduced snow cover will likely result in a northward range expansion. However, the exact mechanisms for how snow limits polecats are still poorly understood. The potential range expansion might result in a population increase of the Scandinavian polecat population, in contrast to many populations elsewhere in Europe, where numbers are declining. |

## Fernandes & Kranz (2025). Mustela putorius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T41658A215860613.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t41658a215860613.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |