The members of the Mustelidae Family live in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, 
Europe, and some have even been found in Australia. On the other hand, ferrets only live 
in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. The European ferret lives throughout Europe, 
in northern and western Asia, and in northern Africa; the Black-Footed ferret lives in 
North America. It's relative the Steppe polecat lives in central Asia, while the
Marbled polecat is found in southern Europe and western China.  Ferrets are found in 
topographical regions such as plains, forests, mountains, farms, deserts, tundra, 
grasslands, and other bushy areas, but you can often find them anywhere that their prey 
lives. And if you would like to consider the Domestic ferret, it can be found in homes 
throughout the world, ocassionally even in places where it is illegal to have them as 
pets.