I have to say I'm learning a lot about killer ferrets here. And I also
have to say that I stand with Troy Lynn on the nurture/nature issue. I
have seen mice come in out of the cold to share a food dish with our
very domestic shelter ferrets. On the other hand we have some ferrets
that came from a breeder who had imported Danish stock. (After she got
started she suddenly decided she didn't want to breed after all and
dumped 2 moms and 13 babies on us.) These kids will zip to chase and
kill a mouse. Note, we shortly dumped the most troublesome mom and babe
on Troy Lynn.

Aside from the Danes I've only had 2 ferrets in almost 18 years of
sheltering that I actually saw kill a rodent. One was a big albino guy
who killed a rat in the basement. In the early days before we put an
addition on the house the shelter was in the basement. The other was a
tiny little dark sable female who disappeared under a cage in a flash.
She killed a mouse and then sat there and hissed at the other ferrets
while she ate it. We all had great respect for her after that, if not
before.

Our "free" grey hound could beat any hapless stray cat to the backyard
fence but she never touched the mom cat who showed up having had a
litter of kittens under the house. She sort of figured they were part
of the family so never mind. Maybe our foundling ferrets feel the same
way? After all, the house is full of found family. Nature? Nurture? Not
sure? Doesn't matter. They all still eat kibble but, as I said, I'm
learning a lot.

Bobbi McC

[Posted in FML 6225]