Some people know how difficult it has been for me to read the FML
lately....five different people emailed this to me.  Troublemakers, each
one.  Have Alphachi and Bill K napped off or something?  FML too quiet?
 
>"After reading Bob Church's discourse on the improbability of the
>"domesticated" ferret to feralize (become feral) in Californica (or any
>other place where ENVIRONMENT is ferret friendly) I can say I'm convinced
>that Church's theory is just that: ... a theory of the erudite.  It's not
>factual discourse of the known.  Could it be wishful thinking and hoping?
>Yes."
 
First about closed doors and smell.  Your idea that a closed door will stop
a ferret from smelling a baby?  Missed a fast ball on that one.  Research
has shown the ferret to equal or exceed the dog's sense of smell, and a dog
CAN do it, otherwise why use them to *find* lost children or people in
crunched buildings?  Ferrets are essentially the same as polecats in the
sense of smell department, which means they can sniff out toads under nearly
half a meter of dirt, topped by snow.  A door stopping the scent?  Heck, my
nose isn't a hundredth as sensitive as a ferret's and I could smell dear old
dad behind the door when he was..."reading."  Ever smell a diaper pail?
That's not saying sound may not be a factor here, but discounting a ferret's
sense of smell is rather..... well, you don't have to erudite to know its
wrong.  Step up for the next pitch.
 
What I presented was a hypothesis to explain the facts.  The "factual
discourse of the known" is there simply are no feral ferrets in the USA.  I
said, since that is true, then various other factors must be the reason.  If
I tested that hypothesis and could not make it fail, then it might become a
theory.  In contrast, what you presented was an opinion; that is, an idea
NOT based on facts, but conjecture.  But let me restate your words as a
hypothesis, "If ferrets react to baby cries excitedly, then they are not
domesticated and can form feral colonies." I'll allow my hypothesis to
become the alterative, "Because of various factors, including olfactory
imprinting, lack of predator advoidance behaviors, and competetion, ferrets
cannot form feral colonies in the USA regardless of their reactions to
sounds."
 
Being erudite, I know you cannot actually test hypotheses; only their
implications.  The implication of your statements (the 1st hypothesis) is
that those ferrets that react to sound will form feral colonies.  The
implications of my hypothesis is that ferrets will not form feral colonies
because of the stated factors.  So what is the next step?  You test the
implications.  Now, the thing is, you are required to discard those
hypotheses that fail the tests.  Since ferrets have been in the USA in large
numbers for at least a century, and sexually complete adults have been
released or discarded numerous times in that time period, you don't really
have to toss new ones out to test the implications.  It has already been
done time and time again.  So, since my argument is so erudite, get a map
and mark out the distribution of the feral ferret colonies.  What?  There
are none?  Then the hypothesis that has failed needs to be discarded.
Missed the low curve.  Step up in the box and choke up.
 
If the hypothesis that reaction to crying babies proves nondomestication,
then you have indeed proved the ferret is nondomesticated.  But so are cats
and dogs because they also have hunting and sound-reaction instincts.  I
believe you have confused "domestication" with behavior changes.  The
trouble with your argument is, behavior changes are not a requirement of
domestication.  Corn still grows towards the light, does it not?  Corn is
clearly domesticated, as are wheat, rye, goldfish, cavies, turkeys and
chickens, yet not one of those species have significant behavioral changes
from their wild kin.  The fact is, while some modification of behavioral
traits can take place in domestic mammals, the basic instincts remain.  It
is actually quite plausible that a ferret might instinctually react to a
crying baby, but you haven't proved it was a "kill" instinct compared to a
"maternal" instinct.  How do you know the ferret wasn't just trying to
rescue the baby?  Nor have you proved all ferrets respond similarly.  Only
about a fourth of my ferrets respond to squeak toys.  How many ferrets have
excited reactions to baby cries?  No evidence means no theory which means
you'll have more to show if you dig a hole in the ground.  Perhaps I'm just
being erudite, but I know an opinion disguised as a "fact" when I see one.
Oops, didn't even swing at that slider, did ya?
 
I don't personally think ferrets are dangerous to infants if the situations
where they come together is treated with healthy respect.  According to the
Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 or more children and a dozen
adults are killed every year in dog attacks.  But that is nothing.  Each
year more than 100,000 children are killed each year by the most
bloodthirsty carnivore of all; humans.  I only wish we could test some of
them for rabies.  In comparision to all other domesticated pets, ranging
from horses to cavies, ferrets are among the safest, and clearly the safest
domesticated carnivore.
 
I think the idea that ferrets might be reacting to sound is actually on the
right track; it makes sense to me knowing predators the way I do.  I have
seen it myself, although in the case I saw, I thought the feret was reacting
with a maternal instinct reather than a hunting one.  I've also noticed a
lot more reactions from female ferrets to squeals, squeaks, and cries than
from males.  So, at this point I don't think you can define the action as
either "maternal" *OR* "hunting." But your other statements are way off the
track, and are made without any factual basis at all.  Please don't allow
your prejudices against "erudite" academics influence your perceptions of
the facts: there are simply *no* feral ferret populations in North America
in spite of centuries of escapes and releases of large numbers of sexually
active adult domesticated ferrets.  In contrast, it only took a score of
years for escaped American mink to become firmly--and
permanently--established in Europe after just a few accidental releases.
Those two statements are facts, erudite or not, and disagrement with *why*
they may be so doesn't alter their validity.
 
Bob C and 19 MO Raisin Hoggs (Missing Jet and Pooh)
[Posted in FML issue 2255]