That sort of variation exists in domestic ferrets, too, though I have not seen one in years. Twenty years ago or so auburn and even almost bright red haired ferrets were not all that terribly unusual in the pet stock. Not common, but not unusual, either. Some were not real but had fur dyed by what they ate, but some were real, just as happens in polecats. The Vincent Trust photos include a polecat who was almost bright red, BTW, and it's a variation which is considered able to occur anywhere, though most common in Wales and Southern Britain, if memory serves. And, yes, auburn ferrets are drop dead gorgeous. I've heard rumors that a high percentage of the domestic ones with that sort of coloration had behavioral issues though I've certainly cuddled ones who were total darlings. No idea if anyone actually did real numbers to see if that was actually so. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 6669]
