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Thursday, 13 August 2026

Global Animal Guide

Family Mustelidae

Animals in the family Mustelidae on Global Animal Guide. The guide features 12 species in this family — each profile answers the most-searched questions first.

Honey badger with grey-white mantle and black body walking across dry savanna ground

Mammal

Honey Badger

The world's most fearless animal

Wolverine with thick brown fur crossing snow in boreal forest

Mammal

Wolverine

The fierce scavenger of the boreal north

Sea otter floating on its back on calm ocean water

Mammal

Sea Otter

The tool-using keystone of the kelp forest

Domestic ferret with playful expression

Mammal

Ferret

The playful domestic mustelid

American mink on riverbank

Mammal

American Mink

The semi-aquatic mustelid

Pine marten in woodland with creamy throat patch

Mammal

Pine Marten

The agile forest mustelid

Stoat in brown summer coat

Mammal

Stoat

The ermine in winter white

Fisher with dark brown coat and long bushy tail climbing a conifer trunk in snowy forest

Mammal

Fisher

Arboreal mustelid that can prey on porcupines

Otter floating on its back in calm water with sleek wet fur and whiskers

Mammal

Otter

The playful, water-loving member of the weasel family

European badger with a black-and-white striped face foraging on a woodland floor at dusk

Mammal

Badger

The striped night-digger of British woodlands

European polecat emerging from hedgerow with bandit mask and dark brown fur

Mammal

European Polecat

Wild ancestor of the domestic ferret

Weasel standing upright on its hind legs in a grassy field showing its slender brown body and white underside

Mammal

Weasel

Britain's smallest carnivore, built for chasing prey into burrows