To Regina,
 
I suppose there is the occasional exception to every rule, but I
personally, would like to see these "wild" ferrets.  I'm sceptical
because over the years I have received several phone calls to come and
get a "wild" ferret, and they have all turned out to be mink!  One was
even picked up by a local animal hospital and one of the kennel workers
was all ready to take it home and make a pet of it.  However when I went
to look at it, I knew immediately it was a mink and not a ferret.
 
While body configuration is similar, the colors are different - mink
are generally a solid color (no mask), and their color can be described
as very similar to the brown of a chocolate lab - at least the ones in
Upstate NY have consistently been this type.
 
Then, of course, there are weasels, ermine, etc that look very similar
to ferrets and can easily be mistaken for ferrets at a quick glance
or by someone with less 'ferret' experience.
 
Polecats are extremely hard to differentiate from ferrets - if a pole
cat and ferret were side-by-side, it would be hard to tell the difference.
There have been several polecat programs on the Discover Channel, and
I have taped them all - they look like darling little chocolate ferrets -
but they're not!!
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
[Posted in FML issue 1182]