THE POLECAT. 



Known also as the Foumart or the ' Fitchet.' 



FROM the polecat tribe spring our tame ferrets, 

 the dark variety of which is distinguished from 

 the more common albino strain by the designation 

 'polecat' ferret. The polecat is, in fact, a wild 

 ferret, and has often been trapped in the act of 

 visiting the cages of tame ferrets, with which it 

 will readily interbreed. 



The polecat is to-day a rare animal, and except 

 for the sorrow one naturally feels at the loss of any 

 one of our fauna, there is no special need to regret 

 its rarity. 



SIZE AND DESCRIPTION. 



This animal is the largest of our true weasels, 

 and an adult male will measure 17 inches from the 

 tip of the nose to the base of the tail. The tail, 

 which is of the bottle-brush variety, measures about 

 6^ inches. In all the true weasels the female is 

 very much smaller than the male, and an adult 

 female polecat seldom exceeds 18 inches, tip-to-tip 

 measurement. 



The colour varies with the altitude, and, to a 

 less degree, with the seasons, sunshine and warmth 

 being conducive to darker shades. The lips are 

 white, enclosed by a belt of dark brown encom- 

 passing the muzzle and the eyes. A lighter band of 

 gray succeeds this marking, and includes the fore- 

 ead, the temples, and the cheeks. Sometimes this 

 band is quite white, and the dark colour begins 

 again behind it. The ears are white-rimmed, and 



