OK, this is the last one and its a little long. I've discussed the
similarities and differences between polecats and ferrets, pet safety-
showing ferrets were safer than most- and the subject of feral animals. Now
to the punch line: can domesticated ferrets establish and maintain feral
populations in the USA?
And the answer is: (sound of opening envelope) *Very* unlikely if not
impossible. BUT, you might counter, ferret are feral in New Zealand, why
not in the USA? Because there are specific conditions necessary for animals
to come into an area and create new colonies, and they really don't exist
much in the USA. For the CaCa Fish and Gestapo to use New Zealand as an
example of how ferrets can become feral is kind of like me using my arms as
an example of how birds can fly.
New Zealand is a unique area, quite unlike most other land masses. It only
had two mammal species on the island when people arrived, and both were
bats. The local ecology was upturned by the locals long before Europeans
arrived; lots of native species were wiped out, including the worlds's
largest birds. The ecology had settled down when Europeans arrived, and
soon the introduction of non-native plants and animals began in ernst.
Everything from elk (or red deer) to American mule and white-tailed deer,
rabbits, quail, pheasant, goats, sheep, cattle; just name it and if it was
hunted in Europe, it was probably released in New Zealand. Plant ecology
probably suffered worst, with sheep and cattle grazing on lands that have
never been grazed before. It was an ecological disaster, and in the middle
of it, thousands of weasels, polecats, and ferrets were released. The
number one rule for one animal to take over from another is disruption, and
New Zealand was certainly disrupted.
The second rule is the predator has to be better than the one it is
replacing. There were no mammalian predators in New Zealand, except the
ones released by the locals and the colonists, so ferrets were better by
default. They weren't better than the other released predators, especially
the stoats and weasels, and it would be an interesting experiment to see if
they could have established themselves if they were only released AFTER the
other mustelid predators.
Numbers released is a third rule. If only a few animal predators are
released, such as escaped pets, they will die out. There is the "Rule of
500" which says unless you have 500 individuals, the population cannot
sustain itself for the long term. Quite literally thousands of ferrets,
ferret-polecat hybrids, and polecats were released by the government alone;
no one knows how many were released from private individuals, fur farms,
rabbit hunters, etc. This wasn't a problem started by lost pets by any
means; it was intentional and planned.
A lack of local limiting factors is a forth rule. Limiting factors can be
food, not a problem in New Zealand because there was a rabbit population
explosion at the time. Another limiting factor can be disease. Since there
where no native mammals, the local disease vector was low. Climate can be a
limiting factor, but one of the reasons New Zealand was so popular was
because it was so similar to Europe in climate, and the ferrets fit right
in, and went after the rabbits.
A fifth rule is an sustainable, exploitable food base. Studies have shown
introduced predators wipe out the easy to kill species, then when things get
nutritionally tough, go after the hard ones. Because of this, many
introduced predators last for a while, then die out with their prey source
(Think of the San Juan Islands). CaCa Fish and Gestapo agents love to say
Carolyn King wrote ferrets have wiped out entire bird populations in New
Zealand, but in fact, she has never said that, even to the point of denying
it when questioned about it. What she said was, the birds died out as a
combination of factors; the changing of the local habitat, introduction of
new plants, hunman presence, and introduced predators, including pigs, dogs,
cats, weasels, stoats (a larger weasel), polecats, polecat-ferret hybrids,
and ferrets. No predator exists that can wipe out is prey species and
survive; in fact, predators and prey co-evolve together, with the prey
species regulating the number of predators. Yes, terrible losses have
occurred on New Zealand, but you can't pull ferrets out of the equation for
special blame. At least not do it and be considered intelligent. The head
of the CaCa Fish and Gestapo has a sign on his desk saying "The DUH stops
here!"
I can go on with many more rules, but they all add up to one argument.
Introduced predators can only establish and maintain themselves under
special circumstances. Do those circumstances exist in California, or
anywhere else in the USA? Well, ferrets have been in the USA for 3
centuries, and it hasn't happened yet, even though ferrets have been
released in enough numbers to establish populations if they could.
Rule one says the local ecosystem must be disturbed. CaCa Land is certainly
disturbed...ecologically that is. Most of the disturbance occurred between
50-100 years ago when land was cleared for farming and housing. But the
disturbance didn't just get rid of predators; it also wiped out prey species.
Look at the list of endangered mammals in CaCa land, and you will find almost
all to be prey species. In fact, the reason some carnivore species are
endangered is because the prey species have been so negatively impacted. So
the areas of disturbance which might be exploitable by the ferret also
suffer from lack of prey species. Oh yes, did you know that *EVERY*
endangered species was put on the list by HUMANS? Not feral cats or dogs,
but human activity. Ferrets must be damn good to even come close to us.
Rule two says the introduced predator has to be better than the one it is
replacing. If ferrets are so good, then why did the New Zealanders dump the
ferret program and start releasing polecats and weasels? If the polecat is
so good, why is the American mink filling its niche in Europe? There are a
host of predator species already established in California; coyotes, three
weasels, bobcat, feral cats and dogs, mink, three foxes, cougar, bear,
fisher and marten are just a short list. Which one of these will make room
for the ferret?
Rule three is the one the F&G ignore. How can enough excaped pets form a
self-sustaining community when they are neutered for the most part, and when
they are spread out geographically as well? They can't answer this one, and
in fact they just skip over it, saying ferrets will be released by local
uncontrolled breeders. Like there aren't any in CaCa Land. Like I haven't
visited dozens, some having raised ferrets for 20 years. Hell, if the damn
thing could happen, then why hasn't there been any hopefull progress with
the black-footed ferret? If a wild species of polecat, extremely closely
related to the domesticated ferret, cannot make it despite millions of
dollars and dozens of scientists working feverishly to help them, how in
blazes can a neutered pet, imprinted on cat chow, and ill suited for the hot
dry climate make it? There is more intelligence in toad crap than in the
entire CaCa Fish and Gestapo. These people are not scientists; they are
facists, practicing pseudo-science at the expense of the constitution. I
say sue 'em or shoot em.
Ok, I've calmed down; just fire them. Rule four is limiting factors, which
in CaCa Land is distemper and other diseases, predation from bigger
predators, lack of wild cat chow, and ill-suited climate (Just visit
Scotland for a month to watch the polecats and you will see exactly what I
mean, assuming you've been to California). Just the opposite of what was
found in New Zealand.
Rule five is a sustainable, expoitable food source. When ferrets were
released in New Zealand, they had scores of rabbits, enough to sustain them
until they established territories, etc., and until the ferrets learned what
native animals they could eat. Think about this carefully. Black-footed
ferrets exploit prairie dogs, steppe polecats exploit ground squirrels,
polecats exploit rabbits that live in warrens. Notice a pattern? CaCa Land
rabbits don't live in warrens, but there is the California ground squirrel
that does. Certainly the ferrets could exploit them, but, oops, there's the
problem of wrenching a niche from established predators, all of which have
evolved in the area and already do a better job than the ferret can ever
hope to do. I'll wait to see on that one.
Lastly, there is history. Ferrets came over with the first colonists, and
have been used for ratting for centuries. Ferret farms have existed across
the continent, and when many were closed, the ferrets were just released.
Breeder ferrets were shipped all over the USA during the 1880-1920, and you
can't tell me none escaped. Yet in all that time, not a single lasting
colony of ferrets have ever been established. Any "feral population" ever
recorded has been self-limiting and unsustainable. Any ecologist worth
their salt will tell you very few species can move and take over a niche,
even when disturbed. Maybe 1 in a 100 or less. Those successes are usually
superior species, or those species that can live with people, like mice and
rats, and coyotes and skunks. Worldwide, in the last 2500 years, ferrets
have been released or escaped in about every environment, and almost as many
places. It has marginally established itself around human habitation in
some parts of Europe, and fairly well on New Zealand. It has been released
in the USA, in Australia, dozens of Mediteranean islands, etc. etc. etc.,
but has never become established anywhere except those places where polecats
are common, or in New Zealand. The domesticated ferret is just not
successful enough to be included on anyone's list of dangerous predators,
and the CaCa Fish and Gestapo need a mental enema. The least they can do is
to wear black and learn how to goosestep.
Bob C and 20 MO Poopshooters
[Posted in FML issue 2088]
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