A polecat–mink hybrid, also known as ''khor'-tumak'' by furriers and ''khonorik'' by fanciers, is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

between a

European polecat The European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), also known as the common polecat, black polecat and forest polecat, is a mustelid species native to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbel ...

(''Mustela putorius'') and a

European mink The European mink (''Mustela lutreola''), also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe. It is similar in colour to the American mink, but is slightly smaller and has a less specialize ...

(''M. lutreola''). Such hybridisation is very rare in the wild, and typically only occurs where European mink are declining. The two species likely began hybridising during the early 20th century, when

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

underwent a warm climatic period which coincided with an expansion of the range of the polecat into the mink's habitat.

Description

Polecat–mink hybrids have a poorly defined facial mask, have yellow fur on the ears, grey-yellow underfur and long, dark-brown

guard hair Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the ...

s. They are fairly large, with males attaining the peak sizes known for European polecats (weighing and measuring in length) and females being much larger than female European minks (weighing around and measuring in length). The majority of polecat–mink hybrids have skulls bearing greater similarities to those of polecats than to minks.

Behavior

Hybrids can swim well like minks and burrow for food like polecats. They are very difficult to tame and breed, as males are

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

, though females are fertile. Studies on the behavioural ecology of free ranging polecat–mink hybrids in the upper reaches of the

Lovat River The Lovat (, ; ) is a river in Vitebsk Oblast of Belarus, Usvyatsky, Velikoluksky, and Loknyansky Districts, as well as of the city of Velikiye Luki, of Pskov Oblast and Kholmsky, Poddorsky, Starorussky, and Parfinsky Districts of Novg ...

indicate that hybrids will stray from aquatic habitats more readily than pure minks, and will tolerate both parent species entering their territories, though the hybrid's larger size (especially the males') may deter intrusion. During the summer period, the diet of wild polecat–mink hybrids is more similar to that of the mink than to the polecat, as they feed predominantly on frogs. During the winter, their diet overlaps more with that of the polecat, and they eat a larger proportion of rodents than in the summer, although they still rely heavily on frogs and rarely scavenge off

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Euungulata ("true ungulates"), which primarily consists of large mammals with Hoof, hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined ...

carcasses as the polecat does. The breeding of these hybrids declined as European mink populations decreased.

Captive crossbreeding

Originally bred for their fur (which was more valuable than that of either parent species), the first captive-bred polecat–mink hybrid was produced in 1978 by Soviet zoologist Dmitry Ternovsky of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polecat-mink hybrid Mammal hybrids Weasels

Description

Behavior

Captive crossbreeding

See also

References