European Polecat
Class: Mammals
Order: Carnivores
Family: Mustelids
Weight: 0.65 – 1 kg
Height: Approximately 20 cm
Body length: 29 – 46 cm
Coloration: The adult polecat’s fur consists of black-brown guard hairs with yellowish underfur. The belly, legs, chest, throat, and tail are almost black. The head, which is relatively short and broad, features a distinctive mask-like pattern: the lips, cheeks, forehead, and ear edges are white, while the rest of the face is black.
Age of sexual maturity: 7 to 12 months
Gestation period: Approximately 46 days
Lifespan: Up to 6-8 years
Habitat range: Polecats prefer small forested areas and individual groves mixed with fields and meadows, avoiding continuous taiga forests.
Diet: The polecat’s diet mainly consists of voles and mice. In summer, it often catches frogs, toads, young water voles (males catch them on the surface, while the smaller females catch them in their burrows), as well as snakes, wild birds, large insects (e.g., locusts). Occasionally, the polecat eats hamsters, ground squirrels, jerboas, and shrews. Forest polecats may also consume fish.
Did you know?
- Polecats can sleep up to 20 hours a day.
- A polecat’s heart beats at a rate of 200-240 beats per minute.
- If necessary, a polecat can dig a 5-meter burrow in just 1 hour.
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