Not to obfuscate, but domestic ferrets ARE Northern European and/or
Siberian polecats, domesticated (as Stanley said) around 3,000 years ago
(check out ancient Egyptian art of ferrets) for hunting rabbits
(lagomorphs) and rodents.
 
The strains brought over from England (I have no further info here;
sorry) have been found to be shorter-lived than the ones still kept as
pets in Europe. Veterinarians have found no dietary or "lifestyle" cause
for this shorter lifespan. But probably the only ones who care about
this kind of trivia are Stanley and me (and our combined 12 ferrets).
Cindy
 
> ----------
> From:         Stanley Copp[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Thursday, May 01, 1997 5:28 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: ferrets
>
> As the owner of seven (7) ferrets (one-upmanship on Cindy?) I too am
> interested in this question.
>
> However, I have contacted a colleague in Missouri who can answer this
> better than me.
>
> I do know that ferrets have been domesticated for over 3,000 years
> and that there is some confusion over cross-breeding with polecats.
> All I know is my seven fuzzballs wouldn't know what to do with a live
> mouse or rat ... they seem to have almost no outdoor survival skills.
>
> Hopefully, Bob Church will respond ... I gave him the listserv
> address in case he isn't a member.
>
> Stan Copp
> Anthropology - Langara
> Archaeology - Simon Fraser University
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
>