This post in response to Nell Angelo's living in Ethiopia with ferrets,
cats and dogs:

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has an historical significance to ferrets in so
far that this is the area of the world where ferrets were first tamed
and put to use by the very early Ethiopians, called Culdites, way
back when agriculture was first developed in the lands of fierce and
terrible nomads. The agricultural Ethiopian developed the idea of a
settled hearth and home. And in so doing gave to us sorgum, dates,
kaffir, coffee, banana, the ox, the tame lion, (he) domesticated wheat,
barley, oats, rye and rice. Also the dog, cat, pig, ass, goat, sheep
and ferret. Native Culdites (Ethiopians) maintained thousands of head
of cattle of superior breeds and, similar to the Australians, developed
a breed of dogs that ran and guarded the cows from the depredations of
Ethiopian wolves and the hyenas.

And here's the rub. The cattle-guard dogs, living and surviving on
their own on the extreme edges of the cattle ranges, have interbred
with the female Ethiopian wolves to produce a dog-wolf hybrid that
is as susceptible, if not more so that the Ethiopian wolf itself,
to hydrophobia lyssa, commonly known as rabies. Such dogs may not,
initially, display observable symptoms of this fatal disease, except
that their behavior may appear excitedly playful and somewhat nippy
in an unusual, rough-house manner of play.

Wolf to dog = domestication. But dog back to wolf = DE-domestication ?
Feraltication ?

In recent history, the Ethiopian wolf has been nearly, totally
decimated by this malady but has made a comeback in numbers. Its near
species extinction and recovery is compared interestingly in the
literature to the near extinction of the USA Black-footed Ferret, the
latter fortunate to be aided and abetted by man in its recovery.

I should like to suggest to Nell Angelo, now residing in Ethiopia
(Addis Ababa?) with his cats, his dogs, and his ferrets, that very
serious consideration be give to isolating his coterie zoologic, since
his several species are all highly susceptible to the filterable viral
disease of rabies.

As a suggestion based upon experience here in the Evergreen State of
Washington on the Isle of Mercer at the former ferret shelter I was
delighted to run, going all the way back to 1981, please let me relate
to you our method of invigorating, deodorizing (not descenting), claw
dulling, and intensely bonding our shelter and breeding ferret stock.
This function was also of benefit to the skunks and mink we temporarily
housed.

Our resident ferts, skunks and two mink were staked outside in moderate
weather in an area adjacent to the building on a partly bare soil and
grassy lot, adjacent to which are stands of very tall Douglas Fir,
hemlock, hazelnut, alder and other trees. More about the trees later.

Each ferret or other critter had an area of a circle with a diameter
of 4 feet, the center of which stood a 1 foot high, very smooth steel
rod, the other end of which was driven into the soil some 6 inches or
so. The ferret was strapped into an English-made, ultra-thin, leather
harness, consisting of a single, long strap (and a small loop), that
formed a very tight figure 8 that circumfused the ferret's body twice
around, one circum ahead of the forpaws and the second circum, behind
the forpaws, the two circums coming together on the ferret's back and
terminating in a simple buckle.

Attached to the top of the harness was the loop with a simple D ring.
To this D ring was tied a length of nylon/rayon surveyors line, and the
opposite end of this 2 foot line ended in a small loop that was dropped
down around the steel rod, loosened sufficiently to allow the ferret to
move around the rod in any direction without tangling the line. Oft
times two ferrets would be staked to the same vertical rod, each
ferret, of course, strapped into its own Englander harness and line.

I want to tell you the benefits of staking one's ferrets out in such a
manner as briefly described above, but in the next posting, because
this one is growing rather lengthy and may be boring to readers who are
uninterested. Your questions or comments, if any, will be entertained.

Edw. Lipinski

[Posted in FML 5650]