Okay, I'd better clarify what I was trying to say when I was nodding off
the other week.  We have had three different hierarchy structures among our
ferrets, including the current one.  The one we had the longest was the
second which began with Haleakala about 12 or 13 years ago; she taught
Fritter, who in turn taught Meltdown.  (Now we have had to separate Meltdown
because living with others would increase her heart arythmia episodes and
possibly kill her, so she sees only Warp with whom she has an extremely
close relationship, but even then only with supervision.) The behavioral
patterns demonstrated when Hale, Frit, and Meltie were alpha did entail a
CLEAR dominance hierarchy, which reminded me of those I have read of in
elephants, and years ago observed in assorted trooping primates (except, of
course, that primate troops tend to have alpha males fill this function, and
have other internal hierarchical sub-structures).  The alpha did have
privileges, but also took on responsibility for keeping harmony in the
ferret busy-ness as well as accepting responsibility for its safety, even
when that meant having to investigate potentially hazardous situations which
frightened the others away.  The last would be done even when it was clear
that the situation did scare the alpha.
 
With our current grouping of four we are seeing a new pattern emerge,
perhaps partially because of 'Chopper's partial deafness.  Maybe Warp will
eventually be in the lead after a number of years; it will then be
interesting to see if she brings back any of Meltdown's approaches.
 
Humans have a tendency to select pets by neoteny -- that is, by juvenile
characteristics which are retained as adults.  That is why we ohhhh and
ahhhh over short faces, big eyes, kit coats, and the like.  This happens
even when the neotenous characteristic is sometimes accompanied by health
deficits such as orthognathic maloculsion (mouth problems from a short
face), dwarfism, etc.  We also go for behavioral neoteny because it results
in pets which are more flexible, more docile -- in general more amenable to
being domestic companions.  Because they are more flexible there winds up
being more chance of their relationships being a LEARNED rather than genetic
situation, to varying extents.  On the FML, and in other places people have
described an enormous number of different hierarchical structures, and I
have seen three structures at home through the years (plus I know what I am
seeing though I am rusty).  I do not think that domestic ferrets have just
one way of responding to dominance structres, but that they instead create
their own answers depending on what they have learned, and that their
ability to do so in so many different patterns is an indication of the
success of their domestication.
 
There, that's got to be better.  Gobbledy gook would have even been an
improvement, but maybe after two nighs of having enough sleep this makes
some sense.  (Does it, BIG?)
 
Yes, Hale really DID try to yodel whenever she heard it.  Crazy ferret.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1691]