I have a ferret that will run and hide at a certain sound. If you have
a metal object say a bowl or dish and rap on it sharply with something
like the blade of a kitchen knife she will scoot like lightening to
the nearest hidey hole and only emerge very slowly and cautiously.

I could never figure this out until I saw a film of a BFF killing a
prairie dog underground and the ferret made exactly the same sound as
it attacked, like a sharp clicking sound.

My ferret Sugar was raised and lived with a business of ferrets used
for rabbit hunting (in the UK) until she was about 6 months old when I
got her. I suspect that this is the sound made by attacking ferrets to
instill fear into their prey and she probably heard it as a youngster.
I have never heard a ferret make this sound myself apart from the BFF
video.

You can find this video and many others at
<http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Mustela_nigripes/more_moving_images.html>

Tony (not a vet), Sugar and Suki.
In memory of Sally and Sue.

[Posted in FML 5669]