Polecat? Ahuriri Bridge, Omarama

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
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erikforsyth
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Polecat? Ahuriri Bridge, Omarama

Postby erikforsyth » Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:46 pm

didn't know this predator was in NZ!
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David Riddell
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Re: Polecat? Ahuriri Bridge, Omarama

Postby David Riddell » Sat Nov 02, 2019 9:37 am

Yes, in the UK this would be called a polecat, but polecats in NZ are usually called ferrets, which in the UK is a name reserved for domestic varieties of polecats. Strictly speaking "our" ferrets are hybrids between domestic ferrets and wild polecats - see https://predatorfreenz.org/resources/in ... ret-facts/ for more details.

Probably because of this mixed ancestry ferrets can be a bit variable in appearance - this one seems to have only faint traces of the black mask across the eyes that truly wild-type polecats would normally have.
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erikforsyth
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Re: Polecat? Ahuriri Bridge, Omarama

Postby erikforsyth » Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:16 pm

Hi David

thanks for the info.

cheers
Erik

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