Man, Nature, and the Ferret. as seen through Lipinski's eyes.

So, who cares what he sees. He wears glasses you know, or maybe you
didn't. However, it doesn't make too much difference in his philosophy,
because even the blind man can see the weakness in his argument.

Weakness, and so it is in the thinking of pet owners, specifically,
ferret owners.

Fortunately, not all of them, I included.

Lipinski, the prognostigator, predicts the ultimate doom for. the
single-source fed ferret. This is the weakness whereof he speaks. It
is the shared weakness, and too the vulnerability of the ferret that
survives on a single-source food, be it the pet ferret or be it the
nearly extinct wild brother of your furkid, the ferret with the dunkeln
(black) fussen (feet).

This little lusty killer could return to his place in modern history
as a has-been, an extinct creature perhaps gone forever to a place not
even approachable with the Valkyries and never ever over the rainbow
bridge to Valhalla, the domain of the godly.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it still make
a crashing thud? If a plains dunkeln fussen ferret dies in a prairie
warren, is anybody aware of it? We have compassion for the dying
subterranean ferret to be sure, providing we know about it.

Does it not seem strange to you that I ask if you have compassion for
just one ferret if you know nothing about it? You may answer with a
responsive question, to wit: How can I know sorrow or compassion for
a creature I know nothing about?

The answer, you can't feel sorrow or have compassion for nothing, yes?
However, when you consider your own ferret, then your feeling or
compassion and love for that creature is strongly felt and is real.
What I'm asking you is for you to have some modicum of that compassion
and love for a ferret unknown to you and living wild on the plains and
prairies of this United States.

The action I recommend you take is two fold. One is the consideration
of the possible eventuality that the commercial food fed to your
ferret, the food you prepare at home, and/or the live creatures that
are food for your ferret, that you get an acceptable second source of
food, but of a kind that is different from what is currently eaten.
Have a second food source for your ferret and perhaps alternate the
feeding, such that all foods fed are entirely acceptable.

There will come a day when the food you have depended upon is no longer
available. Having a second source is wise.

The second action I recommend you take is to write to the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, as have I, and endorse the listing of the major food
source for the dunkel fussen frettchen (black-footed ferret), the
black-tailed prairie dog, on the protected species list. When and if
this listing of the black-tailed prairie dog occurs, then the B-F
ferret is assured a major food source.

Be aware that prairie dog towns cover vast acreages of grassland where
farmers graze their cattle. Prairie dog burrow entrances are elevated
above ground level for two reasons, to wit: to provide the dogs with a
raised lookout upon which they sit and watch for predators. Second the
elevated burrow entrances are the places where the dogs deposit the
soil they evacuate from their burrows and warrens.

Grazing cattle and other wildlife can and do break leg bones if
inadvertently stepping into a dog entrance hole. Consequently, the
ranchers have asked their legislators to kill off as many dogs as
possible by implementing a blanket poison program. This has been done
in the past. Many dogs have been killed by poisoning them and making
them easy prey for the B-F ferrets, who themselves are killed by the
poison residue in the dog's system. East to understand why the B-F
ferret was nearly extinct.

The next time I eat beef, buffalo, or mutton, I will reflect on this:
how many B-F ferrets am I killing? And you, how many?

If the prairie dog makes the protected species list our past concerns
will be lessened.

NOTE: The B-F ferret's worst enemy is a mustelid too. He is the badger,
Genus Tasidea, who sometimes is successful in digging out an
underground ferret.

Variety is the Spice of Life - It may be a Life Saver Too.
Edward Lipinski

[Posted in FML 6233]