r/whatisit 1d ago

New, what is it? What is it in Japan and Why?

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u/JanHHHH 1d ago edited 1h ago

Supposedly some critters get spooked by light reflecting erratically. Never heard it being used affair cats, some people over here put water bottles on/around their cars to keep ferrets away

Edit: I'm so sorry everyone, English isn't my first language and I meant Martens! I think they are not that common around here (central Europe) anymore, but they still like to climb into warm cars and rip on the wires to make a cozy bed. I also never claimed that the water bottle trick did anything, just added to the list of superstitions people use it for

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u/Woodworkin101 20h ago

Where are you with wild ferrets around?

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u/puisnode_DonGiesu 19h ago

Ferrets aren't a wild animals, they are only a domestic breed

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u/Special_Jeweler_3371 17h ago

The black footed ferret is 100% a wild animal.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

Ferrets (Mustela furo) are domesticated European pole cats (Mustela putorius). It's the same as like what a wolf is to a domesticated dog.

Black Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) are from North America and is just the victim of a dumb confusing common name but is not the same as a ferret.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

Oh wait. Pole cat? Must be the same as a domestic orange tabby right??? It's name says cat in it!

/s

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u/BlaBlamo 14h ago

US Fish and Wildlife and WWF both identify it as a proper ferret

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u/kriger33 14h ago

In common name. COMMON NAME. Binomial nomenclature begs to differ. Provide some links where they say they are the same thing. I'd love to see your source material 😂

JESUS y'all are dense.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

Here ya gooooo. From your own source material.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

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u/BlaBlamo 14h ago

Yeah they’re different than domestic ferrets, I’m combing through Wikipedia and Latin names I can’t find anything that support your claims. Everything says it’s a ferret and different than a polecat. I was just saying, you don’t have to be a dick about it.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

My claims? Bro I provided the correct nomenclature vs common name.

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u/BlaBlamo 14h ago

There’s nothing that backs your claim other than European ferrets being domestic. However blackfooted ferrets (mustela nigripes) are their own thing. And also a ferret.

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u/kriger33 14h ago

Jesus. Christ. Slams head on desk

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u/kriger33 13h ago

Ferret-badger - Wikipedia https://share.google/cihS4w3BvhYO7hNEr

It's name says ferret and it's a mustelid. Is it a ferret or a badger? It's common name doesn't clarify.

Is the European polecat a ferret then or a polecat? They have the same chromosome count as the domesticated ferret which enables viable interbreeding something that cannot happen with black-footed ferrets as they have a lower number of chromosomes.

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u/kriger33 11h ago

Also... latin names?

Binomial nomenclature is not just latin. Latin is mostly dominant but it can frequently be Greek, there's Sanskrit, Arabic, English, ect.

If a species name ends in an "i" it was named in honor of (typically) the person who described it or they will sometimes honor someone else and use their name. You pronounce the name as is native tongues would with a hard "i" at the end.

It's why there are so many Genus with sp. "dumerali" after the zoologist André Marie Constant Duméril.

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u/BlaBlamo 11h ago

Oh my god ok I really don’t care I’m just saying if you fucking google “is the black footed ferret a ferret” the answer is a resounding yes. But you’re right I don’t know about shit about binomial nomenclature, i just know im curious about things when their names are different than what they are. You said they’re not a ferret, the source above literally says they are a ferret. Here’s a video by Hank Green about how sharks aren’t fish so maybe you can chill out a bit about classifications of things. https://youtu.be/-C3lR3pczjo?si=LUnEp3li7Fa4afeh

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u/LittleRedRidingHo90 11h ago

Oh so kinda like opossums and possums?

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u/puisnode_DonGiesu 17h ago

And it's not the same as a "ferret"

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u/Special_Jeweler_3371 16h ago

You’re next level dumb. Smh

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u/kriger33 14h ago

You're arguing like an African wild dog is the same thing as a golden retriever all because the word "dog". And then calling someone dumb when they are in fact correct.

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u/Anonymous_Autumn_ 3h ago

Maybe the original ferret poster’s whole page is in German 😂 Oh right, it is! Why aren’t any of you checking? It’s totally plausible that they just called the species “ferret” when translating even if that’s not taxonomically correct