>From:    Edward Lipinski <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Aggression Stimulation in the Ferret & Questions.
>It has been my experience of late that the "aggressive/attack mode" of the
>ferret was stimulated by a 2-day old infant crying some 30 to 40 feet
 
>Is it just too wild a speculative horror for all you ferret freaks (and I'm
>one too) that the ferret is sending us a signal that we don't want to see?
 
Or perhaps you're just too quick to judge the situation.  You hadn't lived
with these people and their ferrets *before* the baby arrived, and you
certainly weren't there when the child came home.  My point is that perhaps
*they* encouraged this behavior in some way by becoming aggressive
themselves.  My gut feelings when I first brought Sarah home was to defend
her against the ferrets too.  Thank goodness my husband was much calmer.
 
>The signal is that sudden aggressive and possibly attack behavior
>stimulated quite easily in the modern ferret by prey sound
 
I'm not sure we're talking "prey sound" as much as we're talking
high-pitched noises that are at an irritating level for ferrets.  Would
you consider a squeaky toy "prey sounds" as well?  In order to make this
argument stick you should.
 
>is evidence that something is "Rotten in Denmark?" Is the "wildness" in the
>ferret lying very close to the surface and only hidden by a sheer veneer of
>domestication?
 
I will not debate the scientific facts, since I have nothing to back me up.
However, in general you've basically bought into the "ferrets maul babies"
attitude as far as I can tell.  You've seen this one case in particular, but
you haven't been to *MY* home.  So before you start talking about ferrets'
"wildness" "lying very close to the surface," keep in mind that it's known
that in the US both dogs and cats can become feral, and chances are about
99.99% that if your ferrets got out they'd die.
 
Amy, Dave & Sarah (and their gaggle of giggling ferrets)
RIP Ian and Elektra
[Posted in FML issue 2257]