European Polecat

Perhaps you have heard of the saying 'stinks like a polecat'. That saying is based on fact because the European polecat can certainly stink! If it is threatened then it empties its anal glands. Accompanied by a loud scream, this scares off its pursuer so it can escape.

The Romans kept European polecats to help them hunt for rabbits. With its slender body it can chase a rabbit even if it enters its hole. All of that hunting and running costs a lot of energy. To ensure it always has enough to eat the European polecat therefore stores a supply of food.

Did you know that the ferret the domesticated form is of the European polecat?

This animal comes from the collection of the Zoological Museum Amsterdam (ZMA). In 2010 the collections of the Zoological Museum, the National Herbarium and Naturalis were merged.