>Any ferret will hunt as will any predator, it is in the genes.  They
>don't need to be "taught"
 
Sorry, but that is not necessarily true for ferrets.  They have even at
times been known to adopt house-mice.  The ability to hunt in untaught
ferrets here in the states varies widely.  That is one reason that most
of the ones who get loose die if they aren't found quickly.
 
If you read the natural history stuff by Bob Church which I recommended
you will find a good deal of useful info in there.  You'll also greatly
enjoy the excellent work of Theirry Lode.
 
>Another import which you so rightly refer to is the mink which has
>caused huge reductions in native species, and not just the polecat.
 
American mink can out-compete polecats with one paw tied behind their
backs, I'm afraid.
 
That is very interesting quote form that sporting paper.  Has the
population been studied at all by scientists to better know what the
populations are and the dynamics involved, and even which types of minks
those are?  If so, could you give the info specifics so that others here
can look it up?
 
>But isn't it strange how many ferrets are found wandering about the
>streets of America?
 
Not in comparison to the numbers reported lost, I'm afraid.  There are
quite a few million pet domestic ferrets here.  A commonly repeated
conservative estimate is 7 million ferrets.
 
If you go through old FMLs and MANY other things you will find that
statements of the CA F&G are are highly questionable.  Heck, I've even
heard a well justified rant from a F&G person in New England who the CA
F&G FALSELY attributed as making a statement about feral ferrets.  One
statement I have heard REPEATEDLY from F&G people in multiple states is
the CA F&G is one of the two worst in the nation and that it regularly
invents things and embarrasses other state's departments by falsely
crediting them.  It is an embarrassment.  Check into some of the other
things it has done; your hair will stand on end.
[Posted in FML issue 4024]