Man Claimed To Breed Ferret/american Mink Hybrid And Hunt Muskrat With Them

[Minkenry 1,044]

I recently learned something rather interesting. Around 40-50 years ago there was a famous Hungarian falconer named György Lelovich who wrote a two part book with the first half of his book entitled "A vadászgörényekről" which means "about ferrets", and the second part "Miniatűr vadászmadarak" which means something to the effect of "Hunting with miniature birds of prey".

Here's a link showing his book..... http://konyv.paradicsom.info/konyv/pic/464980galantai.jpg

In the ferret portion of his book he wrote about buying some American mink, and attempting to tame American mink for hunting purposes. He was unable to tame the mink, and so he instead bred a male mink to 3 jill ferrets. Most of the jills didn't conceive, but one did and produced a litter of 7 offspring. Apparently he wrote in the Hungarian journal of natural science about it, and he gave two of the babies to the Budapest Zoo. He also claimed to have hunted with these hybrids for muskrats. Like mink, these hybrids were semi aquatic.

Now I find this claim very interesting for several reasons. One is why in the heck couldn't an experienced, and even FAMOUS falconer tame and train a mink? While I was still in high school I trained the very first mink I ever worked with without a problem, and right now I'm working on taming my 7th and 8th mink obtained as adults. So it wasn't like I got some fluke nice mink. I've tamed mink from both sexes, various ages, and every type of background you can think of. I've tamed ranch raised mink, ranch escapees who lived in the wild for only a week or two at the most, ranch escapees who lived in the wild for a month or more, and wild born mink. I've even tamed multiple different color varieties. Why is it a teenage boy could figure it out on his own, but this guy couldn't?

Second thing I find interesting about this claim is that I have read in multiple different places that American mink cannot successfully hybridize with ferrets. Heck they say they can't even hybridize with European mink! But I have also read many so called "experts" say that mink can't be tamed, so you can't always believe what the "experts" say to be absolute truth.

Assuming this is all true (I personally believe it is true) I think it's pretty cool to finally find evidence of someone attempting minkenry.

[Hot Meat 3,109]

I was under impression they could not cross breed. Wonder if a stoat can cross a ferret aswell then. I'm away to get me traps out lol

Edited November 19, 2013 by Hot Meat

[Minkenry 1,044]

I was under impression they could not cross breed. Wonder if a stoat can cross a ferret aswell then. I'm away to get me traps out lol

 

I was under the same impression. This is the only thing I've ever read that says otherwise. It would be pretty cool if you could cross a stoat and ferret!

[Jamie m 668]

You. Can cross breed the offspring become mules ie not able to reproduce . Yet there was a case of a mule giving birth to a foal it was bred to a donkey I think ,

[gnipper 6,759]

Don't they call them khonorik's or something?

[Minkenry 1,044]

Don't they call them khonorik's or something?

 

Those are European mink hybrids, not American mink hybrids

 

http://www.ferret.ru/eng/khonorik.html