Mo' Bob wrote:
 
>Ferrets are olfactory hunters, and imprint on prey smells at a very young
>age.  Ferrets also need to learn hunting techniques, even more so than the
>cat.  In other words, cats and dogs look for prey and ferrets sniff for
>prey.  This in not to say the opposite is not true; just far less important.
>Because of this, ferrets that have not imprinted on prey smells have almost
>no chance of becomeing feral because they do not recognize living animals
>as food.  In the USA, few ferrets are fed anything other than kibbled
>foods, making introduction into the wild a virtual impossibility.
 
Just based on anecdotal evidence, i'd have to agree with this (of course,
'anecdotal' for anti-ferret folks means it's written in gold across the
heavens by some infallible deity, but 'anecdotal' in the case of ferret
owners means we must be too emotionally attached to our pets to be
rational).  It's pretty much obvious daily that my ferrets won't touch any
foods i didnt either give first to them when they were young, or that they
havent seen the other ferrets eat.  Friday was clearly spoiled by her
previous owner, since *everything* is food, but Potpie and Noodle have to be
persuaded to accept something - with Potpie, i have to stuff the 'treat'
into her mouth two or three times before she acknowledges it might be yummy.
For example, she *still* hates Petromalt.  What're the odds?!
 
How many times have your ferrets disdained treats that the rest of the FML
proclaims as the treat that makes their ferret hop in the car and drive to
the pet store just in order to stare worshipfully at the box?  i think if
mine were ever presented with a dead mouse or dead CA condor (since the
ferrets are clearly responsible for those, too.  In fact, escaped domestic
ferrets are out-competing the black-footed ferret!  Shhh!  Dont tell
anyone!) they'd hide it under the futon if it was smelly enough, but most
likely they'd first just hide from it, and then get all excited about it and
start attacking my feet, like they always do when i give them a new toy.
 
However, Bob, it's fairly clear that my ferrets also have instincts solely
centered on chasing small, fast objects.  A *live* mouse, much like a
zipping ping-pong ball, they'd be straight off after.  CA F&G had better
start censusing their extremely endangered Ping-Pong-Ball-Shaped Condor
Mice.  What're the statistics on domestic ferrets being able to *kill*
without some sort of imprinting - even if they dont recognize it as prey?
Well, maybe not kill.  Maybe they'd just chase those Condor Mice down and
then try to backwards-scoot them under a bush.  Assuming an escaped ferret
was comfortable in its new surroundings and didnt get et by a hawk, i would
wager on its ability to chase small, darting things out into a street, where
it'd get hit, or into a tunnel, where it'd get stuck.
 
It's interesting, at least.  My ferrets clearly know what prey is supposed
to *move* like, but i wouldnt wager a steel penny on their ability to figure
out how to eat it once they'd killed it.
 
Melissa and the 3.95 wild and wily ping-pong ball killers
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Melissa Litwicki                              "Is it ... atomic?"
      [log in to unmask]                             "Yes! VERY atomic!"
[Posted in FML issue 1761]