Hi, everybody!
 
Many thanks to everyone who has supplied data so far, especially from the
FML (you guys alone doubled my sample size to date! - still only 150 ferrets
or so).
 
A number of you have indicated in notes that I should account for breeding
origin, indications of abuse (for ex, an individual abandoned on the door-
step of a shelter in emaciated condition), age neutered, and how those
things relate to life-span.  I am interested in those effects, any real
mortality study would account for just those things (they'd be noticeable
particularly in the absence of predation).  Since I simply wanted to answer
the question "How long do ferrets live?" and "Do albinos have more health
problems than other ferrets?" I hadn't asked for such data.  Anyone who
wants to send it in is welcome to do so, and I will correlate and qualify as
best I can.
 
Some have also identified whether the ferret was deaf or not - thanks for
the extra info.
 
Also, I don't want to give anybody the impression that this is a rigorous
academic endeavor sanction by any accredited institution - my e-mail just
happens to run through such an institution's PoP.  However, in the interest
of objective value, I am keeping anecdotal accounts and will identify my
methods for anyone who cares as well as furnish raw data (anonymized, of
course) to whomever, when I have results; in other words, I am trying to be
scientific anyway.
 
Also, some of you are taking apart my post and answering the parts of it
seperately.  For example, one person reports have six living ferrets, 2
girls and 4 boys, 3 sables and 1 albino and 2 mitts, ages 6 5 4 3 2 & 1, all
but one from a Canadian breeder and the one from Path Valley.  Such a report
can't be correlated - is the albino a boy or girl and which age is it?  I
must be able to have individuals attributes ("ferret 1 is a 3.5yr old sable
gib from Marshall Farms - has an enlarged spleen; ferret 2 ....; ferret 6
was my BEW sprite, died of insulinoma at age 7; all residing with me in MT,
USA").
 
Also, lastly, the results will be posted here and in the alt.pets.ferrets
group.  It will probably be a few months before I have sufficient data.
 
Anyway, keep the data coming!  And thanks again!
A.
[Posted in FML issue 1811]