Behaviour and Life-cycle
Can swim short distances, but is generally not keen on entering
the water.
A poor climber.
Preferred habitat is pastoral or open country eg. river beds,
or forest margins.
Mainly nocturnal. Home ranges variable according to food supply,
from 3-70ha. Ferrets usually exclude others of the same sex
from its central home range.
Scent glands are used extensively to leave territorial scent
markers.
Mating usually occurs in September. The litter usually of
4-8 (up to 12) is born in October or November, with young independent
by late January. Females can have a second litter after this
if food is abundant.
There is high mortality in the first year, and an average
lifespan in the wild may be 4-5 years.
Principal food is lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) with rodents,
possums and ground-dwelling or nesting birds also frequently
taken. Lizards, eels, frogs, insects, eggs, hedgehogs and carrion
are minor prey
items. Densities of ferrets seem to be strongly correlated
with density of rabbits.
Generally absent or in low numbers in areas of high rainfall,
where there are few rabbits, or deep within forested areas.
Will often revisit the site of a kill.
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