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Breeding - from mating to cub birth

A detailed study of the reproduction of the Taiwanese subspecies of the Chinese ferret badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) has been carried out by Kurtis Pei and Ying Wang. They found that the breeding season begins in January, although it is not until February-March that the population becomes fully reproductively active. The season ends in September-October. It seems that the females are actually capable of reproducing at any time of the year, but the males enter a non-reproductive phase from September-October until December-January, during which time sperm production ceases. This corresponds with southern Taiwan's winter, when drought conditions prevail, and the ferret badger's primary food sources (insects, earthworms and frogs) become more difficult to find. Gestation lasts for 57 to 80 days and therefore in southern Taiwan ferret badgers give birth from May-June until November-December. Delayed implantation does not take place. Each female produces only one litter per year.

In mainland China, this species is reported to mate in March and give birth in May or June; this indicates a breeding season considerably shorter in length than that observed in southern Taiwan. Pei and Wang suggest that reports from China may well be incomplete; perhaps a more detailed study would show that the ferret badger's breeding season in China continues over a longer period than has so far been reported.

A female Chinese ferret badger which was pregnant when captured in Manipur, India in 1991 gave birth on July 11th.

It has been reported that the Burmese ferret badger gives birth occur just before the rainy season in Thailand. Beyond this, virtually nothing is known about the life cycles of these this species, or of the Javan or Everett's ferret badgers.

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Cubs

Litter sizes for the Chinese ferret badger have been reported as ranging from 1 to 5; the young are said to be born in a burrow and suckled for several months. Pei and Wang found that in southern Taiwan, the litter size was always 2. Their observations suggested that the young became independent when 2 to 3 months old. The Indian specimen of the Chinese ferret badger referred to above gave birth to two young. At birth they were blind and hairless. One died after just 4 days, the other opened its eyes at 16 days old, but died not long afterwards.

In Thailand, it has been reported that the average litter size of the Burmese ferret badger is 3.

I am not aware of any data regarding litter sizes for the Javan or Everett's ferret badgers.

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Longevity - how long ferret badgers live

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

I have been unable to find any information on the lifespans of the other ferret badger species.

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References

b001, b003-01, b004, b008, b033.

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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