🦡Striped polecat
The striped polecat, also called the African polecat, zoril, zorille, zorilla, African muishond, striped muishond, Cape polecat, and African skunk, is a species of mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. Despite bearing some resemblance to a skunk, it belongs in a separate family known as the Mustelidae, and genetic analysis suggests that its closest living relative is the African striped weasel. It is adaptable and lives in a wide range of habitats and elevations, preferring open environments with lower levels of shrubs. This species measures 30–38 cm (12–15 in) in length excluding the tail, with males growing larger than females. Its fur is mostly black, with distinctive white stripes running down its back and white patches on its face and tail, though the exact patterning is highly variable.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2015.
- Body mass
- 0.81 kg
- Body length
- 0.36 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 14 years
Everything we know about the Striped polecat
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass0.81 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 0.91 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length0.36 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Brain mass9.85 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan14 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 14 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length4.52 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity1.2 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation37 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 36 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter sizeabout 2COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 2AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelCarnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleNocturnalCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l0.8 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Striped polecat yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderCarnivora
- ›familyMustelidae
- ›genusIctonyx
- ›speciesIctonyx striatus
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- familyMustelidae
- subfamilyGalictinae
All 14 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- suborderCaniformia
- familyMustelidae
- subfamilyGalictinae
More about the Striped polecat
No videos of the Striped polecat yet.
We have 44,653 videos so far, and none of them features this animal yet.
All videos →Compare the Striped polecat
Pick a tool — the Striped polecat is already selected.
Compare every stat with any other animal.
Stand them on the same floor and see who's bigger.
How speed, brain and bite scale with body size. This animal isn't in the sample yet.
See where it sits in the tree of life.