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Classification

Currently, it is generally accepted that there are four species of ferret badger:

• The Chinese ferret badger, Melogale moschata.
• The Burmese ferret badger, Melogale personata.
• The Javan ferret badger, Melogale orientalis.
• Everett's ferret badger, Melogale everetti.

However, some think that the Javan ferret badger is a subspecies of the Burmese ferret badger: Melogale personata orientalis. Others meanwhile have classified the Javan and Everett's ferret badgers as a single species, Melogale orientalis. [More info]

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Names

The Chinese ferret badger is also referred to as the small-toothed ferret badger, while its Burmese relative is also known as the large-toothed ferret badger. The French for ferret badger is petit blaireau - "little badger". In China, the ferret badger is called you-huan, while in Malaysia the name is Pulasan Lamri. [More]

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Appearance and general characteristics

Unlike the other badgers, the ferret badgers are small, elongated animals with long, bushy tails. They do however have typical badger legs: short, with broad paws that are equipped with long, strong claws for digging.

The Chinese ferret badger has a face which is basically dark in colour (greyish or brownish), but with large, whitish patches on the cheeks, a white band lying between the eyes, and a pale stripe running from the top of the head between the ears to the shoulders. The body colour is dark grey or brown. The other ferret badgers are very similar in their general appearance.

The head-and-body length of the ferret badgers ranges from 33 to 43 cm, with tails measuring from 15 to 23 cm. They weigh between 1 and 3 kg. [More info]

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Distribution

The distribution of the ferret badgers is as follows:

• Chinese ferret badger: China, India, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Burmese ferret badger: India, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Javan ferret badger: Java.
• Everett's ferret badger: Found only on Mount Kina Balu, at the northern tip of Borneo.

[More info]

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Social organisation

In Taiwan, studies have shown that the Chinese ferret badger occupies a home range of 4 - 9 hectares. Beyond this, little is known regarding the social organisation, home ranges or territoriality of the ferret badgers. I would suggest that it is likely that they are solitary other than in the breeding season, and that it is possible that, like other mustelids, the males have larger ranges which encompass the ranges of several females.

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Activity patterns

All of the ferret badgers are reported to be nocturnal. The daily activity patterns of the Chinese ferret badger have been studied in Taiwan, where it was found that the badgers were active, though not continuously, from around two hours after dusk until about two hours after sunrise. [More info]

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Dens

Ferret badgers usually hide away in a burrow or some other natural shelter during the day. Unlike the other badgers however, the ferret badgers do not dig their own holes but use pre-existing burrows. The Chinese ferret badger has also been observed sleeping in the branches of trees.

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Food and feeding behaviour

The ferret badgers are omnivorous, although it appears that fruits and plant matter form only a small part of their diet. The range of food items which these badgers have been recorded as eating is as follows:

• Small mammals, including young rats.
• Carrion (dead animals and birds).
• Small birds and birds' eggs.
• Frogs.
• Insects, including cockroaches and grasshoppers.
• Other invertebrates, including snails and earthworms.
• Plant food, including fruits.

[More info]

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Life cycle

Relatively little is known of the ferret badgers' breeding habits, although the reproductive cycle of the Chinese ferret badger has been the subject of a study in Taiwan. This study revealed that the badgers mated from May-June until September-October, and that young were born after a gestation of 2-3 months from May-June to November-December. The litter size in Taiwan was always two, but litter sizes ranging from 1 to 5 have been reported from China. The young become independant at 2-3 months of age.

The average litter size of the Burmese ferret badger is said to be 3, with births occurring just before the rainy season. I have found no information about the life cycles of the Javan or Everett's ferret badgers.

A captive specimen of the Chinese ferret badger is reported to have lived for at least 10 years and 6 months. [More info]

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Predators and defences against them

The ferret badgers, being smaller than the other badger species, are likely to be vulnerable to predation by larger carnivores, but I can find no references to this subject in any of the literature I have studied. It is however stated that if attacked, a ferret badger will defend itself fiercely, and produce a pungent odour from its anal glands.

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Picture credits

The Burmese ferret badger photo used at the head of this Article is © Mr Sawai Wanghongsa, and used with the kind permission of the Royal Forest Department of Thailand. Credits for the photos used in the right-hand margin of this page for site navigation can be found on the Credits page.

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