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I have been reading this chain on cats as
predators, but no one has mentioned the native predators on rodents and birds--
mink, weasels, ferrets. They are relatives
of the martens that have been mentioned. I daresay
trapping mink and ferrets for their fur ( 'fitch" coat = ferret)
decimated the predator population and gave cats a niche.
I can remember seeing a weasel as a child on
the farm in Indiana, but haven't seen or heard of any sightings
since. Sometimes we would lose chickens to
weasels if we didn't shut the hen house door at night. And the one I saw
was less than a foot long including the long tail- probably a 'least
weasel'.
Dianne, now in Rochester NY zone
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