A "wild ferret" would be a polecat, their closest decendant. In fact, all a ferret is, is a polecate who has been bread out of its preditory instincts over generations upon generations.
The thing about plummeting downhill at fifty miles an hour on a snack platter - if you realize it's a bad idea when you're halfway down, it's too late. — Rick Riordan, The Son of Neptune