Below are excerpts from a Larry King Live show that feature "world-renowned"
animal expert and IMHO totally ferret ignorant Jack Hanna.  If we want good
exposure this is the guy to get it through.  May even helpo the people in
California.  "Ferrets peck"?  never heard that one before.  My two lick,
kiss, snuggle, dook, but peck?  Also if anyone has the exact unedited
specifics of the case involving the baby I would like to read it.
 
Larry King Live on CNN:  CALL (202) 898-7690  OR FAX THEM AT (202) 898-7686
 
Excerpts from the transscript of the show:  ( Complete transscript can be
found at: http://cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/9812/24/lkl.00.html )
 
KING: OK. What's next? Did you like the idea of a ferret as a pet?
 
HANNA: Oh, boy.
 
KING: There was a big controversy over...
 
HANNA: Yes. There is. Let me get into that here in just a second as far as
ferrets as pets.
 
KING: What are you bringing out now?
 
HANNA: Well, this is something I wanted to bring out this time of year.
Here you go.
 
Come here. Come here.
 
And there's a reason why I'm bringing the bear out.  I know you have been
to Montana and I know your friend Ted Turner lives out there.
 
 ------------------
HANNA: Yes, Jane knows the prairie dog.  The prairie dog can live in
colonies, Larry, up to like 300,000 and 400,000 animals.  There's a colony
in Texas that covers 10 square miles with a couple hundred thousand prairie
dogs.  They have prairie dogs that are sentinels; they have prairie dogs
that do the digging; they're a great family type of animal.  Also prairie
dogs out West, obviously cause a lot of problems for the ranchers because
of the holes they dig and that type of thing.  The black footed ferret as a
matter of fact which is a very endangered animal -- the black footed ferret
sometimes will use the hole of the prairie dog as well as eat the prairie
dog.
 
KING: Speaking of ferrets, are the ferrets bad pets?
 
HANNA: Ferrets are an animal that if people want them as pets they must
understand one thing because I am not going to get every ferret letter in
the world here writing to me.  But in Columbus, Ohio three years ago there
was a little baby that was six weeks old, that was left in the crib -- the
parents went out shopping -- the ferret got in the crib and destroyed the
little baby.  Now its only one minor example.  Ferrets can...
 
KING: They peck at you.
 
HANNA: Yes.  Ferrets have very sharp teeth.  They're in the weasel family
so all I am telling people, if you want a ferret, just take care and read
about them.
 
KING: What family is this?
 
HANNA: This is the rodent family.  This is the prairie dog.  They have
little teeth like a rodent.  And against this is not endangered.  A lot of
people have never seen a prairie dog and I wanted to bring it out today.
 
KING: Thank a lot.  Next with the Hanna barrage of animals
[Posted in FML issue 2536]