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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Least Concern |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
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Habitat:
A generalist, it is often found in lowland woods in riparian zones and in areas close to farms and villages in the winter; but it also uses wooded steppe, sand dunes, marshes and river valleys, agricultural land, forest edge and mosaic habitats (Birks 1999, Santos-Reis et al. 2023). Mountainous areas above 1,500 m are avoided (Wolsan 1993). It feeds on amphibians, rodents (voles, mice, hamsters), wild rabbits and other vertebrates, and also sometimes on invertebrates and carrion (Wolsan 1993, Birks 1999).
Range:
Mustela putorius is widespread in the western Palaearctic east to the Ural Mountains in the Russian Federation (absent from Ireland, northern Scandinavia, and much of the Balkans and eastern Adriatic coast). The species occurs only marginally in northern Greece.
Outside of Europe, it is found in Morocco in the Rif Mountains from sea level to 2,400 m (Griffiths and Cuzin 2024).
Feral populations of the domesticated form M. putorius 'furo' (ferret) have become established in a number of areas including northern Britain, some Scottish islands, the Isle of Man (United Kingdom), Texel (Netherlands), some Mediterranean islands, the Azores, and New Zealand (Birks 1999, Clapperton 2001, W. Duckworth in litt. 2006).
Outside of Europe, it is found in Morocco in the Rif Mountains from sea level to 2,400 m (Griffiths and Cuzin 2024).
Feral populations of the domesticated form M. putorius 'furo' (ferret) have become established in a number of areas including northern Britain, some Scottish islands, the Isle of Man (United Kingdom), Texel (Netherlands), some Mediterranean islands, the Azores, and New Zealand (Birks 1999, Clapperton 2001, W. Duckworth in litt. 2006).
Conservation:
It is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention and Annex V of the EU Habitats Directive. It is listed on Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (UK). It occurs in several protected areas across its range. Better monitoring of the species is needed, and measures should be taken to reduce hunting pressure and anthropogenic mortality. Restoration of habitats such as marshes, wetlands, banks, woods, groves and hedges can help to connect isolated parts of the population (Weber 2023) in order to prevent introgression. Using pesticides, land occupancy, and the destruction of biotope-types has to be reduced. Restoration of marshes, wetlands, banks, woods, groves and hedges can help to connect isolated parts of the population (Weber 2023). There is also a need to control the release or escape of ferrets into the wild.