When my husband and I went to Hawaii I was excited because I swore I saw
a ferret running around.  It turns out that they were actually mongoose
but the resemblance was amazing.  They looked like a slightly bigger
Champagne ferret.  We had gone a few years back and never saw them on
Oahu or Maui, but this past year when we went to the Big Island we saw
five of them.  They were all over the island.  Unfortunately we weren't
able to get any pictures because as soon as they sensed us they went
running into the Banyan trees.  They were very cute though.  In fact I
found a book in a gift shop that I just had to get for my little niece
called "Footloose the Mongoose and the Jumping Flea (Ukulele)."  We found
some information on them at a couple of parks and it turns out they are
a big reason why ferrets will never be legal in Hawaii.  They are
actually seen as a pest on the island and are killing a good portion of
the Kiwi birds.   Even though they weren't thoughtful enough to hold
still so I could get a picture I still enjoyed seeing them running
around in the wild.
[Posted in FML issue 5169]