Marbled polecats aggressively protect their home range from other polecats and will stand their ground even when humans approach. Marbled polecats have well-traveled home ranges of 0. Marbled polecats have a keen sense of smell, and they emit a strong odor when threatened.
In the family Mustelidae , scent marking is the most common form of communication Wund, Little information is otherwise available regarding communication of this typically solitary species.
When threatened, they emit aggressive hisses. They may also give alarm cries, grunts, and shrieks of submission. Marbled polecats are generalists and opportunistic predators Ben-David, Pellis, and Pellis Their diet includes a range of rodents such as great gerbils , house mice , ground squirrels , birds, lizards, and even some insects Gorsuch and Lariviere, ; Randall et al.
Predatorial strategy of marbled polecats varies depending on the size and defensiveness of the prey. Marbled polecats approach their prey from the side. They bite small prey on their midsection and large prey on the back of the neck. If their prey struggles, the throat is often targeted. Ben-David, Pellis, and Pellis, They raise their tail, arch their back, and may bare their teeth while growling or hissing.
Marbled polecats, like other mustelids , can release a foul smelling odor from an anal gland, which is possibly used as a defensive mechanism. Many marbled polecats are killed by vehicles. Marbled polecats help control rodent populations in some parts of their range Gorsuch and Lariviere, This species may also perform communal hunting with red fox.
Marbled polecats are often used as hosts by ticks and fleas. Historically, marbled polecats were kept in shops to help control rodent problems in Kabul. They are on rare occasions kept as pets. Marbled polecats are occasionally trapped in small numbers for their fur, though it has no market value. Marbled polecats may prey on poultry and may also take cheese and meat from humans. Populations of marbled polecats are declining in many areas of their range, in which they are already uncommon.
Habitat destruction, desertification, and the changing of natural habitat to farmland have led to a large reduction in population size Tikhonov et al. Human reduction of rodent populations as well as road traffic and hunting are also reducing populations of marbled polecats.
Additionally, this species can become infected with ticks and fleas, which is an increasing problem. Although currently six sub-species have been suggested within Vormela peregusna , most of the infra-specific distinctions have been attributed to pelt and region variation Tikhonov et al. One study found high genetic homogeneity among several marbled polecats, and their mitochondrial DNA showed no distinctions among specimens from varying regions in their geographic range Rozhnov et al.
Although this species is distributed over a vast area, the similarities in their genetic makeup remain. This is possibly due to their historically recent expansion Rozhnov et al.
Rozhnov, et al. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Marbled polecats are found in open desert , semidesert, and semiarid rocky areas in upland valleys and low hill ranges, steppe country and arid subtropical scrub forest.
They avoid mountainous regions. Marbled polecats have been sighted in cultivated areas such as melon patches and vegetable fields. Burrows of large ground squirrels or similar rodents such as the great gerbil Rhombomys opinus and Libyan jird are used by marbled polecats for resting and breeding.
They may also dig their own dens or live in underground irrigation tunnels. In the winter, marbled polecats will line their dens with grass. Marbled polecats are known to eat ground squirrels , Libyan jirds Meriones libycus , Armenian hamsters Cricetulus migratorius , voles , mole rats Spalax lecocon ehrenbergi , house mice Mus musculus , and other rodents, small hares , birds , lizards , fish , frogs , snails , and insects beetles and crickets , as well as fruit and grass.
They are also recorded as taking small domestic poultry such as chickens and pigeons , as well as stealing smoked meat and cheese. The marbled polecat was once sought for its fur, generally known as "fitch" or more specifically, "perwitsky" in the fur trade. In , Kabul shopkeepers were reported to have kept marbled polecats to exterminate rodents.
Their journals also show some developed an adverse reaction to the strong smell they emit when threatened. Side effects varied from fever to diarrhea. However, of the males that were housed in groups only dominant individuals changed colour.
Females kept in captivity gave birth months after mating, meaning that delayed implantation is involved. A litter size can range between 1 to 8 young and the father has nothing to do with raising the kits.
Only the mother cares for the young. They are weaned when they are weeks old and leave their mother soon afterwards, around weeks. By the time females reach 3 months old, they are fully grown and have reached sexual maturity but the males take longer. They keep growing for another 2 months and reach sexual maturity at 1 year old.
Its hunting times are at dawn and dusk and its diet consists mainly of desert and steppe rodents — ground squirrels, Libyan jirds, Armenian hamsters, voles, mole rats, gerbils — as well as birds, reptiles and other small animals.
A marbled polecat, caught in the wild, was approximately 8. It lives in areas ranging from sea level up to m and is found up to m in the Tien Shan Mountains. The reason for its decline on the steppes of the Balkans and Ukraine is because its rodent prey has been eliminated and humans have taken over its grassland habitat, much like what happened to the black-footed ferret in the States.
They generally only stay in a shelter once. When they encounter each other, they are usually aggressive. When alarmed, Marbled polecats will raise up on their legs while arching their back and curling their tail over the back, with the long tail hair erect.
They may also raise their head, bare the teeth, and give shrill or short hisses. If threatened, these animals can expel a foul-smelling secretion from enlarged anal glands under the tail. For resting and breeding polecats use burrows of large Ground squirrels or similar rodents. They may also dig their own dens or live in underground irrigation tunnels. In the winter, Marbled polecats will line their dens with grass.
Marbled polecats are carnivores. They eat ground squirrels, Libyan jirds, Armenian hamsters, voles, Mole rats, house mice, and other rodents, small hares, birds, lizards, fish, frogs, snails, and insects beetles and crickets. These animals may also take small domestic poultry such as chickens and pigeons, as well as stealing smoked meat and cheese, as well as fruit and grass.
Little is known about the mating system in Marbled polecats. They breed from March to early June. Their mating calls are most often heard as low rumbling sounds in a slow rhythm. The gestation period can be long and variable lasting from to days and kits are usually born from late January to mid-March.
Delayed implantation allows Marbled polecats to time the birth of their kits for favorable conditions, such as when prey is abundant. Litter sizes range from 4 to 8 kits. Only females care for the young. Kits open their eyes at around days old and are weaned at days.
They become independent and leave their mother at days of age.
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