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 looks like a sling 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
There is a ferret ligation 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 shrubs, 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 it eats eggs of birds, berries, likes to eat and plant foods: melons, fruits of shrubs (rose hips, thorns, grapes, hawthorn).
Crossbreeds are hunted on their own territory with an area of 10-30 hectares, 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.
Red Book Dressing
The number of this species of martens has been sharply reduced in recent decades, the habitat is decreasing, mainly due to the development of steppe lands with the expansion of agricultural land. The fur does not represent its value; only poachers produce it. In nature, the animal benefits, destroying small rodents that harm agriculture and spread infectious diseases.
The decrease in the number of fermentation dressings is also associated with the widespread disappearance of the main prey of this predator - ground squirrels and mole rats. Often they die by poisoning with insecticides that poison pests, or in traps set on steppe rodents.
In the Russian and Ukrainian Red Book, ferret ligation is listed in order to preserve this species of animals as a rare animal with a declining range. It is also listed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In Ukraine, it lives on the territory of the Lugansk and Ukrainian state reserves. In 2017, a coin was issued dedicated to this rare predator and endangered animal species.