Genetic heterozygosity in polecat Mustela putorius populations from Western France

Allozymic Variations were investigated in 49 European polecats Mustela puto rius from Western France by starch gel electrophoresis. Out of 31 surveyed loci, eight (25.8%) were shown polymorphic and observed heterozygosity aver aged 0.057. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and heterozygote def iciency suggest that populations were not in panmixia. Heterozygotes for tw o loci or more totalled 42.9% of individuals. Thus, although carnivores wer e previously considered as less variable, polecat populations from Western France showed a high genetic variability.