Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
The Chinese ferret badger is listed in Schedule I part I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (Hussain 2001).
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
No negative impact on humans has been noted for this species.
People like these animals around because they feed on certain pest insects such as cockroaches (Nowak, 1999). Some people, such as members of the Bhotia and the Lepha tribes, encourage Chinese ferret badgers to come into their huts (Barnhart, 2001).
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Chinese ferret badgers probably affect populations of invertebrates and small mammals upon which they feed.
Melogale moschata is an omnivore. The diet consists of small rodents, insects, amphibians, invertebrates, and occasionally fruit. The most important food items eaten by ferret badgers are earthworms, insects, and amphibians (Chuang and Lee, 1997; Chien et al., 1976).
Animal Foods: mammals; amphibians; insects; terrestrial worms
Plant Foods: fruit
Primary Diet: omnivore
Chinese ferret badgers (Melogale moschata) are found from Assam to central China and northern Indochina, as well as in Taiwan, and Hainar (Jones, 1982).
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
Melogale moschata live in tropical and subtropical forests, and can also be found in grasslands (Hussain, 2001).
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
In captivity, Chinese ferret badgers have been known to live up to 10 years (Jackson, 2001), and one Chinese ferret badger in captivity lived for 17 years (Jones, 1982).
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 10 to 17 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 10.5 years.
M. moschata is the smallest badger. They can weigh from 1 to 3 kg and range in length from 30 to 40 cm (Barnhart, 2001). The dorsal color has phases that vary from dark chocolate-brown, to fawn-brown, to grayish-brown. The underside can vary from white to orange. The face is black with a white forehead, which borders a dark, variable "mask." This species has a characteristic long bushy tail, large ears, and a slender body. The fur of Chinese ferret badgers is short. There usually is a stripe down the middle of the back and a spot on the crown of the head (Long, 1993). They also have elongated, strong fore claws needed for digging (Lekagul, 1977).
Range mass: 1 to 3 kg.
Range length: 30 to 40 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Specific reports of predation upon ferret badgers are lacking. However, some think that because of the small size of M. moschata, they could be vulnerable to predation by larger carnivores. Chinese ferret badgers will fiercely defend themselves if attacked and also emit a strong odorous secretion from their anal glands (Jackson, 2001).
The mating system of this species is not known.
Chinese ferret badgers give birth to cubs, which can be born year round, but usually arrive in late spring (May or June) and again in late fall (September and October). On average, two to three cubs make up a litter. These litters are born in burrows. The mother feeds the cubs until they are two to three months of age (Barnhart, 2001).
Breeding season: Births peak in May and June, and then again in September and October.
Range number of offspring: 2 to 3.
Average weaning age: 2-3 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average number of offspring: 2.5.
The mother cares for her cubs in a den until they are 2 to 3 months old. She protects them and provides them with milk.
Parental Investment: altricial
The Chinese ferret-badger (Melogale moschata), also known as the small-toothed ferret-badger is a member of the Mustelidae, and widely distributed in Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and considered tolerant of modified habitat.[1]
The Chinese ferret-badger is densely distributed from Northeast India north to Central China south to northern Indochina. The Formosan ferret-badger (M. subaurantiaca) of Taiwan was formerly considered conspecific, but is now thought to be a distinct species.[2]
Distinctive mask-like face markings distinguish the Chinese ferret-badger from most other oriental mustelids, although the other members of the genus Melogale have similar facial markings. The average body size of the Chinese ferret-badger is 33 to 43 centimetres (13 to 17 in) with a tail of 15 to 23 centimetres (5.9 to 9.1 in).
The Chinese ferret-badger lives in grassland, open forests, and tropical rainforests from northeast India to southern China, including Hainan Island, and south to Hong Kong and northern Indochina. They tolerate human disturbance well, and temporarily reside in agricultural areas such as rice paddies, soybean, cotton, or grass fields.
The ferret badger acclimates well to areas of human habitation, taking advantage of human-made sites suitable as resting spots, such as firewood stacks and rock piles, and using farmland and vegetable gardens as feeding sites. Ferret badgers create limited conflicts with surrounding human populations, as they rarely prey on chickens or livestock, and tend to not damage property.[3]
The Chinese ferret-badger is active at dusk and at night. It is a good climber. When alarmed it emits foul-smelling anal secretions. It rests during the day in burrows, such as small rodents' dens, or natural formations, such as rock crevices. They also construct makeshift shelters in shallow depressions in the ground.[3]
They have small home ranges that, according to the results of a study from 1994 to 1996, average around 10.6 ha (26 acres) in area. The home ranges of male and female ferret badgers overlap, suggesting a lack of territoriality between members of the species. Despite their small home ranges, however, ferret badgers are relatively nomadic creatures, moving from one resting spot to the next without establishing permanent residence. Ferret badgers may establish single-use resting spots, or choose to inhabit a particular place for a period of several days.[3]
The Chinese ferret-badger feeds on fruit, insects, small animals, and worms. Earthworms, amphibians and insects are important components of its diet.[4] It also eats fleshy fruits such as of Chinese plum, oriental raisin tree, date-plum and Chinese kiwi.[5]
Chinese ferret-badgers mate in March. The female gives birth to a litter of up to three young in May or June. The new-borns are blind and well-furred, with the same colour pattern as the adults. Their eyes open at about two weeks of age.[6]
The Chinese ferret-badger is associated with reported outbreaks of human rabies in southeastern China, which were first reported in 1997 and the most recent case in 2008. There have been no reported deaths in these cases; however, there is currently no rabies vaccine for ferret-badgers.[7][8]
Ferret badgers are among the most hunted fur-bearing animals in Southern China, but maintain relatively high population densities in part due to their nearly-inedible meat and the low prices of their pelts.
The Chinese ferret-badger (Melogale moschata), also known as the small-toothed ferret-badger is a member of the Mustelidae, and widely distributed in Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and considered tolerant of modified habitat.
The Chinese ferret-badger is densely distributed from Northeast India north to Central China south to northern Indochina. The Formosan ferret-badger (M. subaurantiaca) of Taiwan was formerly considered conspecific, but is now thought to be a distinct species.
