Here are some references that might be of interest, if recent postings
are an indication.
 
RE: Animal emotions: "The Weeping Elephant:the emotional lives of animals" I
saw a friend's copy, fairly good for a book with an agenda; unfortunately,
my copy has yet to arrive, and I forgot the author's name.  The exact title
might be slightly different than the one I gave, but its close.  It should
be in "Titles in Print."
 
RE: Chemical Toxins: "Handbook of Chemical Toxicity Profiles of Biological
Species, Vol.  I + II" by Sub Ramamoorthy, et. al.  1995 CRC Press.  Very
expensive; don't buy it; just copy the sections desired.
 
RE: Nutrition: "Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate Digestive System"
by C. Edward Stevens and Ian D. Hume.  1996 Cambridge Un. Press.  This is
one of the best I've read, but some parts can be quite technical.  Chapter
7: "The digestion of carbohydrate, lipids and protein, and the absorption of
end products" is very absorbing.  Very interesting comparison of herbivores
and carnivores.  Read this, and you will know why corn and other plant foods
are not so good for the discriminating carnivore.
 
When combined with "The Digestive System in Mammals" by David J.  Chivers
and Peter Langer.  1994 Cambridge Un.  Press, you can discover anything you
ever wanted to know about the digestive tract.  These are technical, so it
takes real guts to read them.
 
RE: Wild ferrets.  If you love statistics and understand ecology, read
"Ecological Methodology" by Charles J.  Krebs.1989 Harper Collins.  This is
tough to read, but if you really want to argue against the bozos who claim
ferrets can out-compete natural predators in California, wade through and,
then attack their claims on scientific grounds.  (Hint: the anti-ferret
stuff I've read is not based on sound ecological priciples, but on
supposition).  Just ask "So what was the estimation of survival from age
composition in feral ferret populations within the state of California, or
any other state in the union?" This is not a trick question, but is one that
needs to be answered if they have ANY claim that ferrets can go feral and
take over niches from native predator species.  BTW, the answer is zero,
because there are no scientifically confirmed feral ferret populations in
the United States (rumors, yes.  Confirmed, no).
 
RE: Mustelids in general.  "The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats" by
Carolyn King.1989, Cornell Un. Press is excellent.  Pg. 233 "... ferrets,
stoats, and common weasels were deliberately introduced in the mid-1880s, in
order to control rabbits.  They failed." The book is effective in showing
the inability of predators to control prey; rather, the last predator will
starve usually before the last prey is eaten, so the prey, although
devestated, can rebound, while the predator is in danger of extinction.  So
much for the CALIF F&G idea that ferrets will take over the state and eat
all the rodents, feral cats, and tipped cows.  The book doesn't talk
specifically of the ferret, but the species discussed are common in
California, and other publications prove ferrets are the least effective
hunters of the weasel group.  You make the connection.
 
Hope these help.
 
Bob and the 13 Ferret Gumps of Hunting
[Posted in FML issue 1506]