The reference of the day:
 
T. Lode 1994 "Environmental factors influencing habitat exploitation by
the polecat _Mustela putorius_ in western France." *Journal of Zoology
(London) 234:75-88.
 
(Note: The Journal of Zoology (London) [J.  Zool., Lond.] is common at all
universities, most community colleges, many public libraries, and has been
in publication for more than 150 years)
 
In trying to understand the specific needs of our sweet 'lil thangs, it is
helpful to learn about their wild ancestors.  Even if the ferret is
domesticated, it's biology and physiology are only nominally affected,
usually in the categories of reproduction, behavior and hunting.  The
relationships between the European polecat and the steppe polecat are very
close; in most cases the exact differences are not in the specific
expression of a trait, but in the degree of expression.  The same is true
for the ferret.  If the traits of the three species were graphed as a series
of overlapping spheres, it would take on the shape of a Mickey Mouse head,
except the ears would be very close to the head.  In other words, the
spheres would be very close to merging into one.  Why is this important?
Because understanding the needs and evolutionary history of the ferret is
made much easier when we can see the origins of the behaviors and biology in
their ancestors.
 
With this approach, we can see why the litterbox is missed so often, or why
the beasties imprint on specific foods, or why it is next to impossible to
get them to sucessfully return to a wild (or feral) state.  Why do they bite
when they play, what is the war dance all about, and why some have such a
hard time allowing new ferrets into their territory have already been
addressed in the literature, albeit in reference to polecats, and in some
instances, mink and weasels (animals in the same sub-group as ferrets and
polecats).  While not all of the biology and behaviors are exactly the same,
they are homologous to each other due to the close and recent relationships
between the species.  For example, the wings of bats and your hand and arm
are hemologous, that is, they come from the same structures, and have
changed over time to do specific things.  This is in contrast to the wings
of insects and bats, which are analogous, but not hemologous.  That is, they
perform the same function, but come from vastly difference structures.
Analogy is much weaker than hemology, especially in the case of the weasel
group, and specifically in the case of ferrets and polecats.  So if you see
similar behaviors or needs between the ferret and the polecat, you can make
an accurate assumption that the two are related, and differences are
probably due to the domestication process.
 
Why am I saying this?  I had an interesting letter from someone who thought
my recent habit of providing references (and discussing part of them) would
hurt the legalization of ferrets in FFZs.  The point was if I kept drawing
comparisons, it would only tend to blend the two together instead of keeping
them separate.  It is an interesting point.....
 
I disagree on several points.  1) People can readily see differences between
wolves and dogs, wild cats and pussy cats, etc.  People may not know the
names of things, but they are not stupid.  Our problem is the superfical
resemblance of the sable ferret to polecats, so we must turn to other
avenues of investigation, specifically behavior and biology.  In other
words, to find the differences that are not visually apparent, we have to
understand the biology and physiology of the beast.  2) Understanding those
differences gives us a tool for arguing ferrets have been domesticated for a
long time.  It is much more powerful than saying they were mentioned in the
Bible, or seen on a heiroglyphic.  Neither example proves domestication, but
being able to chart those subtle differences in biology and physiology can
be used to build a powerful argument that, yes, indeed, they have been
modified over time to serve human purposes.  (I can come up with many more,
but the 125 line thing...)
 
Lots has been said about what to feed ferrets, and one group tends to follow
the "Purina Knows Best" line, and the other side tends to follow the "I'm
not sure we have it right yet" line.  This paper can be used in support of
the later position.  It discusses the feeding habits of polecats in France
and suggests the polecat is a generalist feeder using an optimal foraging
technique (they will eat anything they can find, and tend to look in the
areas most likely to contain prey).
 
Some tidbits: Polecats prefer wetlands (think of the webbing between the
toes), are optimal foragers (why they are constantly sniffing and exploring
new areas), and eat mostly small rodents, frogs and toads, and birds (the
hunting of rabbit might be used to prove man modified the behavior of the
ferret to specifically hunt the animal.  Domestication)
 
The study is a good one, but a failure to compare their data with data
generated by other researchers weakens the aguments somewhat, but not
fatally.  Includes a good references cited list.
 
Mo' Bob and the 18 Marshy Mustelids (In memory of Gus)
[Posted in FML issue 1739]