1. Ferrets were domesticated:
A) To hunt rabbits.  Incorrect.  Rabbits were limited to the Iberian
Peninsula at the time of ferret domestication, being introduced into
greater Europe at a subsequent date and domesticated even later.
B) To protect centralized grain stores from rodents.  Probably incorrect
for the initial domestication of the ferret, but it was doubtless a
factor in later popularity.
C) To hunt a type of ground squirrel.  Probably correct.  The souslik, or
Ziesel, is a large ground squirrel who's bones are frequently found in
prehistoric human garbage heaps, and ferrets might have been used to bolt
them from their burrows.
D) To hunt hamsters.  Probably correct for the same reasons as C.
E) For household pest control.  Correct.  Household pest control by
ferrets is mentioned or implied in several ancient Greek writings.
F) In a subversive attempt to corner the home manure market.  You would
think so if you go too long without cleaning the litter box.
 
2. Domestication is:
A) A type of evolution that relies on shifts in gene frequencies caused
by human selection pressure.  Correct.  Domestication is essentially
human-moderated genetic manipulation causing gene-frequency shifts
resulting in phenotypic changes.
B) A process that takes hundreds of years to complete.  Incorrect.
While domestication is a process that can take thousands of years, it can
just as easily take as few as a couple dozen generations, or any time in
between depending on the intensity of human selection during breeding,
and the initial amount of variation in the desired traits.
C) Accomplished through several stages (neo-domesticate,
semi-domesticate, domesticate).  Incorrect.  An animal is either
domesticated or not -- there are no intermediate stages.  Once the
criteria are met, (human-controlled breeding, used for human purpose, at
least one difference from the progenitor caused by human selection), it
is considered domesticated.  Black-footed ferrets housed in conservation
breeding programs met two of the criteria of domestication, but are not
"semi-domesticated."
D) A deliberate, conscious process of selective breeding.  Incorrect.
Initial domestication of many animals is thought to have been accidental,
caused simply by humans breeding those captive wild animals that acted
tamest.
E) A process where polecats convince humans to grind whole chickens into
a savory snack.  Food, scratching, litter boxes, etc.; who says ferrets
are the slaves of humans?
 
3. Domestication has caused the following changes in ferrets (compared
to their wild progenitors):
A) Shorter, wider skulls.  Incorrect.  Minor differences do exist in some
ferrets, but fall within the normal range of variation, rendering them
insignificant at the population level.
B) Stronger body odor.  Possibly correct.  Wild polecats are reported to
have less obvious body odor than intact ferrets, but the data hasn't been
verified.
C) Larger body size.  Correct.  Intact ferrets eating a high quality
diet are significantly larger than their polecat progenitors.  Neutered
ferrets, those eating a low quality diet, or those eating kibble, are
about the same size or smaller than polecats.
D) Increased curiosity.  Correct.  Curiosity in ferrets is markedly
increased compared to polecats, probably due in part to behavioral
juvenilization.
E) Generalized neophobia.  Incorrect.  Neophobia is the fear of new
objects in the environment, and a general trait of polecats.  Ferrets
display extreme neophillia, showing little or no fear of new objects
in the environment.
F) Crowded teeth.  Incorrect.  There is some minor crowding, especially
with the premolars, but it is not statistically significant.
G) Sustained albinism.  Correct.  Sustained albinism is only found in
domestic animals, directly resulting from human breeding practices.
H) Hoarding.  Incorrect.  All mustelids (and carnivores in general) hoard
(or cache) food.  Toy and food hoarding (caching) are instinctual ferret
behaviors, generally unchanged by domestication.
I) The ability to find the most tender part of the human body to lick,
lick, and chomp.  The ability to find that single unprotected tender spot
is uncanny.
 
4. Ferrets were domesticated:
A) By Egyptians about 2000 BC.  Incorrect.  There is NO evidence
Egyptians even knew about ferrets.  There are NO mummies, NO hieroglyphs,
NO archaeological remains, NO linguistic evidence, NO ferret gods, NO
natural history support.
B) By Phoenicians about 600 BC.  Probably correct to some degree, but
only by inference, not direct evidence.
C) By trans-Mediterranean peoples about 500 BC.  Probably correct to some
degree, but only by inference, not direct evidence.
D) By Greeks about 350 BC.  Correct.  Greek references are the first
historical accounts of the ferret.
E) By Romans about AD 70.  Correct.  Romans didn't initially domesticate
the ferret, but they were certainly involved to some degree.
F) By Europeans about 1000 AD.  Incorrect.
G) By Ohio ferret farms about AD 1880.  Incorrect.
H) By arrogant Americans about AD 1977.  Some do seem to think so,
don't they?
 
5. The progenitor of the domesticated ferret was:
A) The European polecat, Mustela putorius.  Incorrect (at this time).
It is unclear if the ferret is a descendant of the European polecat, the
steppe polecat, or a hybrid of both Old World polecats.
B) The steppe polecat, Mustela eversmanni.  Incorrect (at this time), for
the same reasons as A.
C) The black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes.  Incorrect.  While more and
more scientists are beginning to consider the black-footed ferret to be a
subspecies of the steppe polecat, the New World polecat is not the
progenitor of the ferret.
D) The exact progenitor is unknown.  Correct (at this time).  If the
progenitor cannot be confirmed, then it is unknown.
E) Disney cartoon weasels.  Or maybe the weasels in "Who Framed Roger
Rabbit?"  The weasel in the straightjacket?
 
[Posted in 2 parts: Second post combined onto this one.  BIG]
 
6. Ferrets never became popular as a domesticated animal because:
A) They have a strong body odor.  At least partially correct if early
references can be believed.
B) The economic costs of maintaining ferrets nearly equal the benefits
of pest control and food production.  Correct.  Ferrets have never had
a high cost-benefit ratio, making them economically unpopular except to
those of marginal economic status where small returns have significant
impact.
C) Of the perception that ferrets were commonly owned by poachers.  At
least partially correct if early references can be believed.
D) They couldn't out-compete cats as mousers.  Correct.  Cats slowly
supplanted ferrets in that capacity after their introduction into Europe.
Luckily for ferret owners, as ferrets lost their job as mousers,
rabbiting and ratting became more important (as both species became more
common), and ferrets continued to be maintained as a domestic species.
E) Of a conspiracy of deception promoted by jealous dogs and cats.  I
suspect it is green-eyed jealously of those beautifully long necks.
 
7. Ferrets were commonly found in the United States:
A) during the 1600s.  Incorrect.  There is no evidence that ferrets were
ever imported into the New World during the 17th century.  It is probable
a few ferrets were aboard ships, or even made landfall, but their number
never had a significant historical impact, and they were never commonly
found.
B) During the 1700s.  Correct.  By the later third of the 1700s, several
British and American ships were named ferret, American publications
carried ferret husbandry and ratting information, and small ferret cages
were listed on several ship's equipment rosters.
C) During the 1800s.  Correct.  During the first part of the 1800s there
were at least three U.S. naval ships named ferret, and ferrets were
commonly mentioned in the literature.  By the middle of the 19th century,
ferrets are mentioned in several state game laws.  By the end of the
century, ferrets were sold from ferret farms and in pet stores, and the
first books on the ferret were published.
D) During the 1900s.  Correct.
E) Whenever socks could be found in sufficient quantity.  Is it a
coincidence all ferret owners own socks?  I don't think so.
 
8. Ferrets were used during the 1800s in the United States:
A) To help supplement rations during the Civil War.  Correct.  This is
supported not only by the implications of game laws, but also by personal
accounts.
B) To hunt various furbearers.  Correct.  Ferrets were used to hunt mink,
raccoon, weasels, opossums, fox, and skunk.
C) For rat control.  Correct.  Not only are the earliest accounts of
ferrets in the USA linked to ratting, but ferrets were used to hunt rats
in New York City, predating the establishment of the famous Ohio ferret
farms.
D) In animal experimentation.  Incorrect.  Ferrets were not significantly
used for experimentation until the early 1900s when their value in
influenza research became evident.
E) For their pelts.  Correct.  Some ferret farms routinely sold "fitch
fur" for use as coat trim and paint brushes.
F) For rabbit control in orchards.  Correct.  Many game laws specifically
allowed the use of ferrets to control rabbits suspected of damaging fruit
trees.
G) Aboard ships for rodent control.  Correct.  Ferret farms routinely
sold ferrets for use aboard ships.
H) To drag cables and telephone wires through small pipes.  Correct.
First mentioned in 1880 when electrical wires and telephone cables were
first being strung.
I) To spur the textile industry via the manufacturing of replacement
socks.  Could have been a factor in the success of the industrial
revolution, and might be the origin of the phrase "sock it to me."
 
9. Ferrets:
A) Can form feral colonies.  Correct.  While most reports of feral ferret
colonies are exaggerated or scientifically unsubstantiated, the large,
self-sustaining ferret population in New Zealand proves the point.
B) Are dangerous to babies and young children.  Correct.  While
ferret-caused injuries are infrequent and generally inconsequential
compared to those from dogs or cats, they can and have harmed children in
the past.
C) Are vectors for dangerous diseases, including rabies, tuberculosis,
and influenza.  Correct.  A low statistical probability is not the same
as a lack of occurrence.
D) Readily escape into the wild.  Correct.  In just a single example,
there are frequent reports on the FML of ferrets that have escaped
captivity.  If you doubt it, just leave a ferret near an open front door.
E) Think the entire California Fishin' Gestapo has the collective IQ of a
salamander.  I think ferrets are overestimating their abilities.
 
10. In the last 200+ years, the number of feral colonies of ferrets
found in the United States, Canada and Mexico number:
A) More than 100.  Incorrect.
B) More than 50.  Incorrect.
C) More than a dozen.  Incorrect.
D) A small handful.  Incorrect.
E) Zero.  Correct.  There is not a single report of feral ferrets in the
United States that has been independently confirmed.  U.S. feral ferret
reports can be classified into 1) short-term, unstable, short-lived
populations that rapidly die out, 2) unconfirmed sightings, or 3) the
misidentification of lost pets.  Nowhere in the United States has ANY
feral ferret population been located or verified.
F) More than you can count, given ferret math.  I have 20 feral
ferrets lurking around my house, which I think is better than 20
feral Teletubbies.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4061]