Ferret-badgers
Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae
Subfamily : Melinae
Genus : Melogale
Facts about the genus Melogale, the ferret-badgers
Ferret badgers are born in burrows and fed by the mother for two to three months.
96 in) Burmese ferret badgers are small weighing between 1 – 3kg at maturity.
Habits Like other members of the badger family, the Ferret badgers is an omnivore, its diet consists of small rodents, insects and occasionally fruit.
Introduction The ferret badgers are largely carnivorous, but it seems that they will eat plant matter on occasion.
Introduction The ferret badgers are very similar in appearance and measurements, so I will describe these common features here, and then go on to discuss the differences between the species separately.
Introduction The following classification of the ferret badgers is generally accepted:
Lack of information about the ferret badgers is perhaps the biggest of the threats facing these species.
The ferret badgers are rather un-badgerlike in appearance, but you probably guessed that from the name.
The scientific name for this genus, Melogale, is derived from the Latin word for badger, meles, and the Greek word for marten or polecat, gale [b005], hence the "polecat badger".
The tails are variable in length; they are very short in the case of the stink badgers, while the tails of the ferret badgers are relatively long (around half the length of the body) and bushy.
However, the habitat of the genus Melogale is wooded hillsides and sub-tropical and tropical forests. (Full text)
The fur of Chinese ferret badgers is short. (Full text)
The most important food items eaten by ferret badgers are earthworms, insects, and amphibians (Chuang and Lee, 1997; Chien et al. (Full text)
Some pictures of Ferret Badgers are available here. (Full text)
