European polecat

European polecat
European polecat ( Mustela putorius )
Systematics
Subordination : Canine (Caniformia) Superfamily : Marten relatives (Musteloidea) Family : Marten (Mustelidae) Genre : Mustela Subgenus : Polecat ( putorius ) Type : European polecat
Scientific name
Mustela putorius
Linnaeus , 1758

The European Polecat or Waldiltis ( Mustela putorius ), also called Ratz or Stänker and Fiss , is a species of predator from the Marder family (Mustelidae).

description

Skull of a European polecat from the collection of the Wiesbaden Museum

European polecats have a slender, elongated body with short limbs. The fur is dark brown or black, the yellowish undercoat shimmers through the outer hair. The muzzle is whitish, as is the area behind the eyes and the tips of the ears. Black spots around and in front of the eyes create a mask-like facial drawing. The fur is the same color in summer and winter, but the summer fur is significantly thinner.

With regard to size and weight, these animals show a pronounced sexual dimorphism . While males reach a head torso length of 30 to 46 centimeters and weigh 0.4 to 1.7 kilograms, the females with 20 to 38 centimeters head torso length and 0.2 to 0.9 kilograms are significantly shorter and lighter. The tail length is 7 to 19 centimeters.

distribution and habitat

Distribution area

European polecats are common in almost all of Europe and are among the most common native martens . They are only absent in Ireland and most of Scandinavia , in the east their range extends to the Ural Mountains . The species was introduced in New Zealand .

Despite the name Waldiltis, the polecat is not a distinct forest dweller; its habitat is more the open forest edges, but also fields and meadows. It is often found near bodies of water and wetlands. Sometimes he settles near villages and on farms, where stables and barns are also part of his hunting ground.

Way of life

European polecats are nocturnal and start foraging at dusk. During the day they withdraw into self-dug burrows, crevices in the rocks, hollow tree trunks, abandoned burrows of other animals (for example those of rabbits ), but also into buildings and wall niches. Some sources indicate that the polecat-female is also diurnal when rearing its young. They live solitary outside of the mating season and mark their territory with the secretion of their anal glands . This foul-smelling secretion is also used for defense. The animals are mainly on the ground. They almost do not climb, but they can swim and dive well and also search for food in bodies of water.

food

European polecats are mainly carnivores that prefer to feed on amphibians such as frogs and toads . They are skillful and aggressive hunters who can overwhelm a prey twice their size. In addition to amphibians, birds , eggs , fish and rodents are also on their menu. Sometimes they also kill snakes , but, contrary to what is sometimes claimed, they are not immune to snake venom. Vegetable food in the form of fruits is less common.

Prey animals are killed by a targeted bite on the neck. Sometimes they also stock up on food in their buildings.

Reproduction

Polecat pair

Polecat young animal

Mating takes place from March to June. During this time there can be fights between the males for the mating privilege, during the mating itself the male immobilizes the female with the help of a neck bite. After a gestation period of around 42 days, the female gives birth to two to twelve (three to seven on average) young animals. These are blind at birth and relatively small, weighing around 10 grams. After a month, their eyes open and in the same period they are weaned. At around three months they are fully grown and become self-employed. In the wild, the animals can reach an age of around six years, in human care up to 14 years.

European polecats and people

Around the 1st millennium BC BC humans began to use the polecat's hunting abilities for their needs. Wild animals were tamed and used to hunt rabbits, rats and mice . Over the centuries the domesticated form of the polecat, the ferret ( Mustela putorius furo ), emerged, although it is unclear whether the European polecat or the steppe polecat is its original form. For fur production, the European polecat is also kept on farms to a small extent in Germany.

Hazard and protection

Polecat as a traffic victim

The threats to the European polecats include the loss of their habitat due to building activity and intensification of land use, as well as road traffic and hunting. Nevertheless, they are widespread and are not endangered species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN has rated this species of marten in the Red List of Endangered Species as Least Concern . The Federal Republic of Germany places them in Category V and thus on an early warning list; twelve countries in Germany rate from Category V to predominantly Category 3 ( endangered ) to Category 2 ( highly endangered ). In Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, the Iltis is protected all year round.

Austria and Switzerland list the European polecat in the national red lists with category 3 ( endangered ). In Switzerland, the polecat has been under protection since 1978 and is not allowed to be hunted according to the federal law (JSG).

The Bern Convention of the Council of Europe protects the European polecat in Appendix III of the agreement and declares it to be a wild animal in need of protection that may be used in exceptional cases. The European Union also assigns it this category by listing it in Annex V of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (EC) No. 92/43 or the amendment in Directive EC 2006/105.

See also

• Polecat fur

literature

• Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 (English).

Web links

Commons : European polecat ( Mustela putorius )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Photos and further information
• WISIA Tracing Service for Endangered Species. In: WISIA Online. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, accessed on January 13, 2010 . 
• Mustela putorius in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Fernandes, M., Maran, T., Tikhonov, A. Conroy, J. Cavallini, P., wreath, A. Herrero, J., Stubbe, M., Abramov, A. & Wozencraft, C., 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wildlife Biology Working Group at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen eV: Information about indigenous marten species - European polecat, forest iltis (Mustela putorius Linné, 1758)
2. ↑ Hans-Friedrich Rosenfeld : Germ. “Fis (t)” in its development in a figurative sense; To ndl. "Vies", German "nasty", "disgusting", "feeling disgusting", "tricky"; To ndl. "Fis", "visse", rhine. "Fiss", 'polecat'. In: Contributions to the history of the German language and literature. Volume 78, (Halle) 1956, pp. 357-420; Volume 80, 1958, pp. 424-460.
3. ↑ Gamekeeper St. Hubertus eV: Iltis
4. ↑ Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance
5. ↑ Online query of the Europ. Polecat in the Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany and its federal states. science4you, accessed February 4, 2010 . 
6. ↑ Hunting Seasons 2017 , accessed on July 29, 2017
7. ↑ Red List of Threatened Animal Species in Austria as of June 30, 1998. Austrian Species Protection Information System OASIS, accessed on January 13, 2010 . 
8. ^ Red list of endangered animal species in Switzerland. Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, accessed on January 13, 2010 . 
9. ↑ Appendix III of the Bern Convention. Council of Europe, accessed 13 January 2010 .