Michelle Sechrist, age 12, of Grand Forks, N.D., for her question:

IS THE FERRET A LARGE ANIMAL?

Ferret is the name of the domesticated European polecat. It lives in most parts of Europe and the Soviet Union as well as in China, Kashmir, Palestine and Morocco. The ferret is between 16 and 26 inches long, including a six  to nine inch tail. The animal weighs about two pounds.

The ferret actually is a weasel with a bushy tail and long fur. Its feet are long sad heavy and the soles of its feet are covered with fur. The animal's underfur may be gray or yellowish and it has long, black guard hairs.

The ferret sleeps during the day and hunts at night for rabbits, game birds, eggs, fish, eels and frogs.

Only one type of ferret is found in the United States. It lives on the Great Plains and is about 20 inches long with a five inch tail. This animal feeds almost entirely on prairie dogs. But since the prairie dog is gradually dying out, so too is the ferret becoming scarcer.