Weasels and Ferrets: Are They Really That Different?

One of the cutest animals ever, weasels and ferrets, though one of them won’t be as cute as you think once you read this essay. With their long-tubular bodies, and usually brown fur, weasels and ferrets are commonly mistaken by each other. Although they look almost identical, they are actually very different creatures, especially in their behaviors. They share a lot of the same classifications in their taxonomy. Continue reading for a dive through their appearance, behavior, diet, and taxonomy.

You may think that they look the same, with their sausage-like bodies and whiskers like a cat’s. While they both have thick fur and thin bodies, ferrets have black or brown coats with white in the middle whereas weasels have lighter brown or beige coats, sometimes even red-ish brown with white underbellies. Ferrets are larger and longer than the weasel, but they have thinner bodies. They’re both fluff-balls, sort of like cotton candy. Both weasels and ferrets can have white fur. For ferrets, only albino ferrets have white fur. Other than their white fur, they also have red eyes. For weasels, only a short-tailed weasel, or a stoat can have white fur, but this happens only during winter.

Albino Ferret

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Weasels are as vicious as a raptor. Those big marble-like eyes, bright and determined, staring at their prey, seeking the right moment to clamp onto their prey’s necks. They are wild and aggressive creatures, and they’re illegal to be kept as pets in many places. On the other hand, ferrets are soft and cuddly, and they can be kept as pets. If they are kept as a pet, ferrets like to roam around the house as they are as curious as a detective. Other than their behaviors being completely different, their diet is quite the same. They are both carnivores, and they both eat rats, rabbits, and mice. Although ferrets can eat factory-made food, weasels cannot. Weasels are always eager to eat, they can eat up to half their body weight. Both animals are as flexible as rubber, but ferrets are so flexible that they can bend their backs into an “O” shape. Of course, weasels have to have something to defend themselves, especially when living in the wild. They can spray an awful-smelling liquid from their anal glands to protect themselves from their predators.

A Weasel Hunting

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Even though their behaviors are far different from each other, their taxonomy is very similar. They both come from the same kingdom, Animalia, and the same phylum, which is Chordata. They have the same class, Mammalia, and share the same order too, Carnivora. In addition, their families are also the same, Mustelidae, and the same Genus, Mustela. Of course, the species of every animal is different, so this is where they separate their similarities. The species of a weasel is Mustela nivalis while the species of the ferret is Mustela furo.

Classification of a black-footed ferret

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In conclusion, ferrets and weasels aren’t as similar as you think. Although their physical appearances, diets, and taxonomy are pretty similar or hard to tell the difference in, their behaviors are completely different. Ferrets are more calm and curious whereas weasels are more aggressive and vicious. So, since ferrets are less aggressive, they can be trained to do tricks while weasels cannot. All of the classifications in their taxonomy are the same except their species, ferrets being Mustela furo and weasels being Mustela nivalis. From this, it would be very obvious to tell the differences between the two animals.

Bibliography

Holloway, Sarah. “Weasel Vs Ferret - How To Tell One From The Other.” Squeaks and Nibbles, Squeaks and Nibbles, 26 Mar. 2021

Cosgrove, Nicole. “Weasel vs Ferret: What’s the Difference? (With Pictures) | Pet Keen.” Pet Keen, 27 Aug. 2021

Melvin, John. “Main Difference Between A Ferret and A Weasel? - PetFriendlyPDX.” PetFriendlyPDX, 23 Apr. 2019

​​Churcher, C.S.. "Weasel". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 18 September 2019, Historica Canada

​​Ferret Animal Facts | Mustela Furo - AZ Animals. AZ Animals, 2 Apr. 2021

Written by Yael 7A