Habits: Polecats are solitary hunters and are active mainly at night. Males may have territories as large as 6,000 acres, which they patrol regularly in search of prey. Females have smaller territories that may overlap those of other females and males. Territories are marked by secretions of an oily, pungent musk. The polecat also sprays its scent when frightened or angry.

Food and Hunting: The polecat preys on many other animals, including birds, toads, frogs, lizards, and snakes. It also eats smaller prey such as earthworms and insect larvae. Polecats are ruthless hunters, killing entire litters of animals but eating only one or two. They have even killed all the birds in a henhouse without eating a single one. Polecats are fierce hunters, often catching prey much larger than themselves, such as rabbits. They kill them with a bite to the neck. Polecats paralyze frogs and toads by pithing, or biting through the brain stem. This leaves the victims alive but immobile.

Breeding: Polecats breed from March to June. The female allows the male to drag her around by the scruff of the neck for as long as an hour. They then mate several times. The repeated mating usually guarantees fertilization. The female gives birth in a nest of dry grass and moss to a litter of 5 to 10 young 40 to 43 days later. She guards them carefully and, for the first few days, leaves the nest briefly to feed. She also leaves the nest to defecate and urinate, which keeps the nest clean and is a habit that the young soon acquire.
The female suckles her young for a month, during which time she brings them small pieces of meat, which they suck and chew. When the young are a month old, their eyes open and they follow their mother out of the nest to begin exploring their surroundings. After learning to hunt, the young polecats are ready to fend for themselves in the fall.

Polecat and Man: At one time, the polecat was hunted for sport. Today it is appreciated in wildlife reserves because it controls the numbers of small rodents that destroy saplings by gnawing the bark. The polecat is also welcomed by some farmers, who encourage it to live in barns and kill rats and mice. The polecat’s fur is thick and silky and was valuable to the fur trade. As recently as the 1970s, thousands of polecats were killed for their skins each year. Now that public opinion has turned against furs, the trade in polecat skins has almost ended.

Key Facts:
Sizes:
Height: 3-4 in.
Length: 15-18 in.
Weight: 1-4 lb.

Breeding:
Sexual maturity: By March of the year after birth; can be as young as 8 months
Breeding season: Between March and June
Gestation: 40-43 days
No. of young: 5-10. May sometimes produce 2 litters per year

Lifestyle:
Habit: Solitary, nighttime hunter
Diet: Rabbits, hares, mice, birds and their eggs, lizards, frogs, and insect larvae
Lifespan: 4-5 years in the wild, up to 14 in captivity

Related Species: The ferret, Mustela putorius furo, and the steppe polecat, Mustela eversmanni, are close relatives.
Distribution: Europe from Atlantic coast to Urals, north to southeastern Norway and south to the Mediterranean and Black seas.
Conservation: Once nearly extinct in Britain, it is now recovering and its numbers are multiplying rapidly. Common in other parts of Europe in areas away from human settlement.

How to recognize the Polecat: The polecat has a long, low body with a bushy tail. Its creamy yellow underfur is covered with long, coarse guard hairs in dark brown or black. A striking feature is the characteristic “face mask” that differs from the markings of the polecat-ferret. The polecat-ferret is a cross between a ferret and a polecat and usually has a pale coat. A ferret is a domesticated polecat used for catching rabbits. Usually smaller, it often has creamy white fur.

Did You Know:
The male polecat is almost twice as heavy as the female. Males hunt larger prey, leaving smaller prey for females, thus avoiding competition for food between the sexes.
In winter, the polecat’s coat changes to silver gray, which provides excellent camouflage.
The skunk, a close relative of the polecat, has highly developed anal scent glands. Its secretions are so pungent that they may temporarily stop a predator’s breathing.

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