Hi!
 
I apologize if this is not appropriate material for FML.  However, I'm a bit
alarmed that word-of-mouth accounts of ferret mortality (life span and more)
aren't consistent ("6-8 years" vs "7-9 years" vs a vet who said "13 years in
the wild" - ?????????  - vs "chronic health problems starting at age 5" vs
"chronic health problems by age 3").  I'll be reviewing Morton, Winstead,
and Jeans regarding their accounts, but I don't remember any statements from
the first time I read them.  Although I'm sure the MF folks probably have a
very good idea as to how long ferrets live, I just have to measure this
myself.
 
So if y'all will indulge me a bit, please e-mail the following information
about your ferret(s) :
   1) if living, age at present; if deceased, age at death;
   2) coloration - sable, albino, silver, etc.
   3) sex
   4) country and region
   5) if deceased,identify apparent cause of death; if living please
      express my 'duhk!'s to them.
 
As I said in the news group, lots and lots of data would be good (law of
large numbers).  I have responses on only seventy ferrets so far, but it may
be that the least I can get by with is between 350 to 2100.  I hope to
extract averages, perhaps correlations with region, sex, and color from data
collected from individuals and vets.
 
A.
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[Posted in FML issue 1804]