CreatureData

Steppe polecat

Mustela eversmanii Lesson, 1827

LCLeast Concernmammals

The steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii), also called the steppe weasel, white polecat or masked polecat, is a mammal in the family Mustelidae, subfamily Mustelinae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 1.7 kg, living in grassland and shrubland.

Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)
Photo: Andrey Giljov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the steppe polecat

Gestation lasts from 36 to 46 days, and females have 1 litter per year with 7.8 young per litter. The IUCN Red List assesses the steppe polecat as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

Weight
945 g – 1.68 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
11.1 years – 14 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grassland, shrublandsrc for Habitat
Gestation
36 days – 46 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
7.82src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
10.2 months – 10.5 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the steppe polecat

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)
Mickey Bohnacker, Presse-Fotograf, Frankfurt/Main · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)
Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)
Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)
Jan Dušek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the steppe polecat live?

Not recorded

What is the steppe polecat?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii), also known as the white or masked polecat, is a species of mustelid native to Central and Eastern Europe and Central and East Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution, occurrence in a number of protected areas, and tolerance to some degree of habitat modification.

It is generally of a very light yellowish colour, with dark limbs and a dark mask across the face. Compared to its relative, the European polecat, the steppe polecat is larger in size and has a more powerfully built skull.

The steppe polecat is a nomadic animal which typically only settles in one area until its prey, mainly ground squirrels, are extirpated. It mates from March to May, and generally gives birth to litters of three to six kits, which attain their full growth at the age of two years. It hunts for larger prey than the European polecat, including pikas and marmots.

From the Wikipedia article “Steppe polecat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steppe_polecat&oldid=1381901205), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the steppe polecat endangered?

The steppe polecat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the steppe polecat classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyMustelidae
  6. genusMustela
  7. SpeciesMustela eversmanii Lesson, 1827

Synonyms Mustela amurensis, Mustela eversmanii admirata, Mustela eversmanii amurensis, Mustela eversmanii eversmanii, Mustela eversmanii hungarica, Mustela eversmanii larvatus, Mustela eversmanii michnoi, Mustela eversmanii talassicus, Mustela eversmannii, Mustela lineiventer, Mustela tiarata, Putorius eversmanii dauricus, Putorius eversmanii tuvinicus, Putorius tibetanus

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Masked polecatEnglish
  • Steppe weaselEnglish
  • Steppe weaselEnglish
  • White polecatEnglish
  • ابن عرس السهوبArabic
  • Степен порBulgarian
  • tchoř stepníCzech
  • SteppeilderDanish
  • SteppeniltisGerman
  • ΣτεπονυφίτσαGreek
  • Turón de la EstepaSpanish
  • arohilleriFinnish
  • Putois d'EvermannFrench
  • Putois des SteppesFrench
  • Putois d’EversmannFrench
  • molnárgörényHungarian
  • SteppuveslaIcelandic
  • Puzzola delle steppeItalian
  • ステップケナガイタチJapanese
  • Сасық күзенKazakh
  • 스텝긴털족제비Korean
  • SteppebunzingDutch
  • tchórz stepowyPolish
  • Furão-da-EstepePortuguese
  • Toirão-das-estepesPortuguese
  • Dihor de stepăRomanian
  • Светлый хорьRussian
  • Светлый хорёкRussian
  • Степной хорьRussian
  • Степной хорёкRussian
  • Tchor svetlýSlovak
  • stepski dihurSlovenian
  • Bozkır kokarcasıTurkish
  • Тхір степовийUkrainian
  • 艾鼬Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the steppe polecat

Other species in the same genus Mustela.

LC, Least Concern
Stoat (Mustela erminea)

Stoat

Mustela erminea

Mustelidae

CompareSteppe polecat vs Least weaselSteppe polecat vs StoatSteppe polecat vs European polecatSteppe polecat vs European mink

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the steppe polecat?

The steppe polecat is a mammal in the family Mustelidae and the order Carnivora. Its scientific name is Mustela eversmanii.

How heavy is the steppe polecat?

The steppe polecat has an adult body mass of 1.7 kg, which places it in the medium size class.

What does the steppe polecat eat?

The steppe polecat is a carnivore.

What habitat does the steppe polecat live in?

The steppe polecat lives in grassland and shrubland, where it is terrestrial and nocturnal.

Is the steppe polecat endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List lists the steppe polecat as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

How long does the steppe polecat live?

The steppe polecat has a lifespan of 11.1 years, with values up to 14 years reported.

How many young does the steppe polecat have?

The steppe polecat has 7.8 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation of 36 to 46 days.

Who named the steppe polecat?

The steppe polecat was named Mustela eversmanii by Lesson, 1827.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-polecat

MLA

“Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-polecat.

BibTeX
@misc{steppe_polecat_2026,
  title = {Steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/steppe-polecat},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}