It has accompanied humans for 2500 years and even brought about the meeting of Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan
In Mr. Jin Yong's "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," what kickstarts the tumultuous events of the martial world is a"Lightning Marten"that appears shortly after the opening. The book describes it thus: "Zhong Ling patted the leather pouch at her waist and whistled twice. Suddenly a white shadow flashed, and the Lightning Marten leaped out."
Besides being fierce, the Lightning Marten in the story alsodisplays distinct companion animal traits. For example, when Duan Yu is alone, "a grey shadow flashed, and a small creature leaped down swiftly from a tall tree, crouching about ten feet in front of him." Duan Yu merely "whistled a few times," and the Lightning Marten "crouched on the ground and stayed still."
Zhong Ling and her pet "Lightning Marten" in the TV series. Image: 2013 adaptation of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"
If not for the Lightning Marten leading Duan Yu to encounter the Manggu Red Frog, the lives of Duan Yu, Wang Yuyan and others might have been rewritten entirely. However, as a natural history nerd with hopelessly scattered interests, I have always been hung up on a different question——Could the "Lightning Marten" in the story really exist?
Does the "Lightning Marten" really exist?
The martens of the Old World belong to the Mustelidae family. Among the dozens of mustelid species living on our planet, there is onethat has been domesticated by humans for over 2500 years, called theferret(Mustela putorius furo), also known as theferret. By the Song Dynasty, the historical setting of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," the ferret had already been domesticated as a companion animal for over a thousand years.
This black "mask" is why the ferret got its name. Image: gcfa.com
After a long history of domestication, ferrets are friendly toward humans, cats and dogs, can obey simple commands, and still retain the fervor and agility of mustelids.If, during the Song Dynasty, ferrets were brought to China by long-distance traveling adventurers and merchants, it is entirely possible.
Ferrets are affectionate toward people and can even obey simple commands. Image: gifcat.com
Martens and humans chose each other
The ferret'swild ancestor may be the European polecat(Mustela putorius). They first entered the human world most likely because the ancient Romans (equivalent to China's Spring and Autumn period) discovered they could use the ferret's ancestors to catch rodents and rabbits.Catching rodentscan eliminate plague and prevent rodents from spoiling grain;catching rabbitsmeant having delicious roasted rabbit legs. Over the past 2500 years, ferrets have mainly lived in the human world as hunting helpers. Only in the last 200 years have ferrets gradually become pets found all over the world.
This 14th-century painting depicts women using ferrets to catch hares. The time corresponds to the setting of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber"——the Yuan Dynasty. Image: Wikipedia
Don't be fooled by their small size; their hunting skills are superb. Image: BrumCraft / Wiki commons
In fact, this was a two-way selection process, or more directly,the ferret's ancestors also chose humans. Human granaries attracted various wild rodents, and these rodents lured in the adventurous European polecat. Considering that these small martens and weasels were not very aggressive and would not cause much damage, humans actively accepted them and, through domestication, changed their color and body size.
Despite the name "ferret," the ferret actually more commonly comes in various combinations from grey and brown to black. Image: mammalfacts.com
Wandering between domestic and wild
After a long period of mutual companionship, today's pet ferrets are no longer suited to life in the wild. However, under certain circumstances, ferrets can return to nature and dominate or evendestroy ecosystems。
The ferret, which looks both clever and soft, becomes a threat-laden killer once it enters the natural world. Image: reddit.com
In New Zealand, due to the explosion of wild rabbits, people introduced ferrets and other mustelids around 1880, hoping to control the rabbits and protect pastures. Within less than a decade, ferrets had established their own habitat and breeding population in the wild.Besides wild rabbits, those slow and clumsy rare and endangered birds——kiwis, blue ducks, kakapos and others——could not escape the ferret's sharp claws either. The kakapo's range has even shrunk to only small islands with no trace of mustelids.
Because their evolutionary process lacked powerful predators, naive birds like the kiwi have no ability to resist the invading ferrets. Image: kiwibird.org
Due to their close genetic relationship,pet ferrets and European polecats easily interbreed. This makes it easier for them to regain the ability to survive in the wild, becoming a major threat in nature.
Due to their close genetic relationship, pet ferrets and European polecats easily interbreed. Image: Manfred Danegger / photoshot.com
Your pet ferret needs attention
Compared to domestic dogs, which have been domesticated by humans for over 10,000 years, and domestic cats, which have domesticated humans for about 10,000 years, ferrets have been domesticated for a much shorter time. Therefore,they retain more of their primitive ancestors' living habits. Because of these habits and traits, we need to be extra careful when keeping pet ferrets.
Ferrets are full of traces of their wild ancestors. Image: giphy.com
Chatting with American veterinarians, they told me that thesick ferrets admitted to their hospitals simply outnumber the cats and dogs combined, and one important reason is that ferrets will swallow just about anything. For example, some ferrets like to bite carpets and wallpaper; some like to chew plastic bags and packaging boxes; and some will directly swallow glass marbles, socks, shoe polish.These things entering the digestive tract can put these little creatures' lives at risk. This kind ofexploratory drive is a mustelid instinct, so families keeping ferrets must train them from a young age not to swallow foreign objects, and must constantly tidy up clutter and stay vigilant.
"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating." Image: gifak.net
Ferrets and their mustelid relatives generallyhave short intestines, fast digestion and a very high metabolic rate. Therefore, unlike cats and dogs,ferrets seem to be forever starving and thirsty. Therefore, once you decide to keep a ferret as a pet, you must constantly remind yourself to always have enough food and water ready, keep the air conditioning on in summer, and satisfy their needs at all times.
Always hungry, give me some food. Image: boredpanda.com
The ferret's wild ancestors were meat eaters, and evolution did not give them the ability to digest cellulose and large amounts of starch. So when choosing food for ferrets, pay close attention to protein and fat content,choose high-protein nutritious meat-based dry food. Important things repeated three times:Do not feed cat or dog food, do not feed cat or dog food, do not feed cat or dog food!
Although cat and dog food is unsuitable, ferrets actually get along very well with cats and dogs. Image: cat-gifs.com
Ferrets sleep like there's no tomorrow; this is a way their wild ancestors conserved energy. And once awake, wild ferrets need to hunt efficiently and quickly, while pet ferrets need to play wildly. So the ferret you keepneeds to sleep more than 18 hours a day; and when it wakes up, it needs toys, needs companionship,needs to burn off energy. Therefore, once you keep a ferret,remember to play with it well, remember that it is eagerly looking forward to you.
When ferrets sleep, they really are dead to the world. Image: reddit.com
In the process of humans domesticating wild animals,genetic diseases and birth defects always accompany it. Such a cute pet ferret, yet its lifespan is not long.The average lifespan of a ferret is only 6-8 years, around 4 years old is roughly middle-aged, and around 6 years old counts as elderly. As they age, kidney disease, heart disease, ulcers, intestinal disease, insulinoma, lymphoma and other diseases may appear. Therefore, for older ferrets,be sure to observe their diet, bowel movements, as well as breathing, coughing, hiccupping and similar phenomena, all of which help veterinarians make a diagnosis.
The ferret, which seems to combine both cuteness and agility, requires effort from its owner to care for properly. Image: giphy.com
In the wild, ferretsburrow. Therefore,when bringing one into your home, it is best to keep it in a cage, and just let them out every day to play and exercise. Otherwise, it might appear at any time behind the TV cabinet, under the sofa, in the washing machine drain hole, in the toilet, or among a pile of dirty clothes.
With a ferret at home, you might... need to change all kinds of habits. Image: boredpanda.com
A final note
Accompanying each other with humans2500 years, is neither too long nor too short. This time is enough for humans and ferrets to grow close to each other, enough for Duan Yu, Xuzhu and Xiao Feng to gather and part ways, yetit cannot erase the primitive instincts in ferrets。
A light-colored individual of the ferret; the grey shadow/white shadow "Lightning Marten" in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" may be this. Image: Aurélien Mora / wiki commons
Therefore, if you decide to bring this lightning-like little animal into your home as a companion animal,be sure to remember to understand their habits. Because behind these habits is interwoven millions of years of natural evolution and 2500 years of mutual adaptation.
This article is the 179th article of Year 4 of Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @Wang Fang.
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