Terminology and coloring
A sable ferret, the most common color variation Male intact ferrets are called
hobs; female intact ferrets are jills. A spayed female is a sprite, and a
neutered male is a gib. Ferrets under one year old are known as kits. A group of
ferrets is known as a business.
Ferrets come in a variety of coat colors and patterns. The ones recognized by
the American Ferret Association are as follows:
Colors:
Albino
Black
Black Sable
Champagne
Cinnamon
Dark-eyed White
Sable
Color concentrations:
Standards
Roans
Point (Siamese)
Solids
Markings:
Blaze
Panda
Mitt
White ferrets were favored in the Middle Ages for the ease in seeing them in
thick undergrowth. Leonardo's painting Lady with an Ermine is likely mislabeled;
the animal is probably a ferret, not a stoat, for which "ermine" is an
alternative name (the latter strictly applying only to the animal in its white
winter coat). Similarly, the "Ermine portrait of Queen Elizabeth the First"
shows her with her pet ferret, who has been decorated with painted-on heraldic
ermine spots.
Ferrets as pests
In 1877, farmers in New Zealand demanded that ferrets be introduced into the
country to control the rabbit population, which was also introduced by humans.
Five ferrets were imported in 1879, and in 1882-1883, 32 shipments of ferrets
were made from London, totaling 1217 animals. Only 678 landed, and 198 were sent
from Melbourne, Australia. On the voyage, the ferrets were mated with the
European polecat, creating a number of hybrids that were capable of surviving in
the wild. In 1884 and 1886, close to 4000 ferrets and ferret hybrids, 3099
weasels and 137 stoats were turned loose. Concern was raised that these animals
would eventually prey on indigenous wildlife once rabbit populations dropped,
and this is exactly what happened to New Zealand bird species which previously
had no mammalian predators.
