>From:    Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: adrenal symptoms; feral; NYC; sleeping not dead (check blood
>         glucose for some)
> <snip>
>Ah, many differences exist.  Here are just a very few: Polecats are
>wild stock, not domestic stock.
 
Sukie, I'm sure I didn't mention polecats in my post; I was referring to
ferrets.
 
>Furthermore, they have been taught to hunt.
 
Any ferret will hunt as will any predator, it is in the genes.  They
don't need to be "taught"
 
>In CA there are serious predators, some of which would eat the ferrets
>and others of which could easily out-compete ferrets for the same food
>sources or the same dens or both.<
 
Obviously you will be more familiar with the predators in CA than I am.
But let me assure you that in the UK some of our indigenous species have
been driven from their natural habitats by foreign imports.  A classic
example is the red squirrel, driven out by the grey squirrel.  Another
import which you so rightly refer to is the mink which has caused huge
reductions in native species, and not just the polecat.
 
Strangely enough on the island of North Uist which I was referring to in
my original post the ferrets appear to be thriving alongside mink and I
quote from an article in a British sporting paper - "I live on North
Uist; a tiny, unspoilt island in the Outer Hebrides, an island that teems
with rabbits, rats, mink and, amazingly, a huge population of wild/feral
ferrets."  The writer goes on to say - "The ferrets have also been
breeding on the island for over 20 years.  These tend to have colonised
the sandy west coast, where the rabbit warrens exist in their thousands,
housing not only massive numbers of rabbits, but also feral cats, otters
and ground nesting birds during the summer." (italics mine)
 
Of course, where there is a food shortage the weakest will go under and
according to you, in the US that would be the ferrets.  But isn't it
strange how many ferrets are found wandering about the streets of
America?  Nobody could say with certainty how long these ferrets have
been out on the streets or indeed how long they would have survived had
they not been found.
 
George
[Posted in FML issue 4023]