Recap: 2 day old baby brought home and "licky-kissy" ferret goes bananas.
Baby is in sight of ferret.  Next day, ferret is isolated from baby at far
end of house and baby cries.  Ferret goes bananas again.  In both instances
the one commonality is the sound of the baby crying, PERIOD!
 
What's this going bananas stuff?  Very simply, the ferret was attempting
to get TO the baby in such a vigorous manner that its owner was astounded.
Never before had his ferret demonstrated such "eagerness of purpose."
 
Should we not want to try to understand this behavior?  Or rather shall we
try to deny it by all sorts of arguments, such as, "it's not scientific,"
"sampling number is too, too small," "it just wants a look see," "such
irresponsible posting of ferret (attacks) is just fodder for the Californica
Fin and Fur agency,." and perhaps most damning of all, the response that
some have made that "Mr. Lipinski's postings like this make me mad as hell
and I demand that he be kicked off the FML."
 
Oh, yes; that's already happened to Mr. Lipinski, for he's been forbidden to
post on the other ferret list moderated by Christine Code: Reason ... not in
conformance to the rules of etiquette, plus the fact that we are here to be
one, big happy family and have a good time, or words to that effect.  No
controversial subjects allowed.  Deja vue "all over again" - Herrn Josef
Goebbels, you needn't resurrect on Easter monday.
 
So to be as non controversial as possible (for me, that is) I shall use the
terminology as above, to wit: "eagerness of purpose."  Then the question
arises, to what purpose is this obvious eagerness directed?  To say that it
purposes a predator/prey relationship is a big, big jump in supposition,
wouldn't you say?  Yet let's consider another lesser purpose, the purpose
first of possession; the idea that the ferret wants to possess whatever
creature is producing that particular sound so apparently troubling (?) to
the ferret.  Then, once in possession, the ferret's "built-in instinctive
orders" will drive it to the next step, what ever that may be.
 
Possessiveness is strongly displayed in the ferret's taking its "toys" and
dragging them off to its cache.  The same is true with surplus food.  Then
there's the socks, shorts, panties, etc.  Surely one can't help but be aware
of this strongly shown behavior.
 
As I have, have you experienced the possessiveness of the nursing mother
ferret taking a near-skin-puncturing grip on your finger and "dragging" you
over and into its nest box with her kits?  It would appear that this is
possessiveness strongly motivated by her maternal instinct.
 
As I have, have you experienced the possessiveness of a chunky, big balled
ferret picking up a near dead and cold baby ferret off the cold concrete
floor (not his kit) to cuddle it throughout the night against his belly?
 
Lastly, could 47 lacerations (not bite punctures) on the top of an infant's
head have resulted from another chunky, big balled ferret trying his
damnedest to drag away this human infant left lying on the floor all night
as an act of possessiveness?
 
For crying out loud, people, don't you think it's about time we take a
closer look?  But how?
 
Edward Lipinski, Der Frettchenlustbarkeitsfuerher, who shouts:
Frettchen Vergnuegen! [G.] Ferret Joy!
[Posted in FML issue 2260]