Acting like real weasels...

[kishi]

I dunno if anyone has brought his up before, I'm sorry if I'm just repeating things though.

Anyway, has anyone ever noticed how they have little tiny things that are actually things that real weasels, or at least ferrets, do?

Like:

Greasy - He's a male weasel, he seems to always be chasing after girls (He at least enjoyed reaching down Jessica's top a little too much. ) He seems to have oily/greased hair.

Real male ferrets who aren't neutered do the same thing when they come into 'season'. They obsess over girls, get really oily fur and are generally kind of moody. (Not usually towards people, but they'll try to hurt other male ferrets.) They're also kind of smelly because of the oil.

Uncontrollable laughing - Ferrets get excited/happy and make little noises that sound like giggling. (Called "Dooking": www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYN6oEDJPrA )

[wifeofsmartass]

Yeah, I always thought about such things, too. And you know how the weasels are excellent at solving problems, tracking down Roger, and finding clues? That's total mustelid behavior. I've read about studies upon the intelligent skills of ferrets and weasels, and they do indeed have the knack for figuring things out, (hence the phrase "to ferret something out") and in the wild weasels are superb at tracking their prey. Ambitious animals, aren't they?

[kishi]

It's just interesting for me to try and spot all the little things they do. Although real weasels are actually solitary (except for mating and mothers with babies), ferrets are really social and like living in a group most of the time. (There are exceptions, but hey...they're anti-social ferrets.

[Eternity]

Weasels are also highly aggressive, and are fierce fighters. Watch the bar fight scene and you'll see.

[Fatal hilarity]

I've often wondered where weasels get their sneaky reputation. Is it their skills at sneak attacks or escape? I know ferrets like getting into every nook and cranny in the house, including places they shouldn't be.

[kishi]

That's usually where it comes from. They get into -everything-. I read about a man who had an otter for a pet (he rescued it when it was a tiny baby and it imprinted on him as 'mom'). He said his advice to people was not to get an otter as a pet because it was like a 20 pound ferret that didn't just steal your car keys but stole the whole car. XD

Weasels themselves tend to get it because of their ability to find that one tiny opening and get through it. Usually into something you don't want them in, like a henhouse or a rabbit hutch. (They'll kill a rabbit if they get the chance, especially the babies.)

Ferrets have extremely thick skin...what looks like attempted murder is usually only dominance or play-fighting. Mine do it all the time and it looks like they're trying to kill each other. They aren't, they're just wrestling, but if you didn't know it you'd swear they were bloodthirsty little savages.

[Fatal hilarity]

For some reason viciousness isn't on the list of stereotypical weasel traits, from what I've seen. I've heard "sneaky", "untrustworthy", "greedy", "craven", etc., but never vicious or savage.
What about egg stealing? I keep hearing about it, but I've only encountered two toon weasels total that actually do it. I would imagine real-life weasels would eat the eggs as well as kill the chickens when breaking into a henhouse.

I've traced back the negative stereotypes of weasels back to Aesop. That's thousands of years ago!

Now... how in the world does an otter steal a car?

[kishi]

It was a joke because he could get into so much more trouble than the little ferrets do.

Some ferrets/weasels will eat raw eggs, but as far as ferrets, they're in the minority. Wild weasels probably eat anything they can get when they're hungry.

[Veggirl]

If you watch closely, you can see the weasels slink around a bit. Real weasels are slim enough to fit into tight places.

[Fatal hilarity]

That was always the major thing I noticed about them- their extremely slinky, flexible bodies. I mean, most mustelids have incredibly bendy spines, almost like slinky springs.
The animation in The Wind in the Willows has greater emphasis on this, I notice.

[kishi]

I agree. Sometimes I swear that my ferrets are nothing more than fur covered slinky toys with the way they contort themselves. (The only way they can't bend is completely backwards. Everything else is fair game.)

The girls (my ferrets) have crammed themselves into my socks, shoes, tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls (I cut them down the side of the roll so they wouldn't get their heads' stuck.), tubes/tunnels, etc. If it's sufficiently interesting, a weasel will go check it out.

[Fatal hilarity]

So is that how they managed to move from the Toontown fireworks factory to the back rooms of the Ink & Paint Club to the sewers beneath the Taxi Co. building to their hideout, and then to Jessica's dressing room and finally to the streets behind the Acme Gag Warehouse and the Bullina China Shoppe so quickly, without anyone in line seeing them?
...And does anyone know what the heck I'm talking about?

[psychoangel51402]

Oh, yes, I know from personal experience that mustelids are like shadows when they want to get somewhere without people knowing. And I can only imagine how much more so TOON mustelids must be!
btw, kishi, my ferret used to be able to bend completely backward ^_^
What's all this about an otter stealing a car?! lol, sounds epic ^_^

[Fatal hilarity]

Apparently they weren't stealthy enough to evade the detection of Toontown Radio's news reporters, or Jessica. The dialogue in the ride seems to imply that they're not the best judges of who may be listening in on them, especially since those in line are supposed to hear them... then again, who's to say that anybody is around in the WFRR world? I guess if you were going to stay faithful to the ride's storyline, you'd insist on having human tourists attempting to ride on a cab and being forced to wind through the back alleys of Toontown to reach them...

You know, that's one thing that never made sense to me. Why does the line not go directly to the waiting cabs, when you think about it?

Er... off-topic... I dunno, I haven't got anything else to say. I don't really know enough about real-life weasels to make comments.

[kishi]

The line queue thing...it's got to do with setting up atmosphere and also is usually an attempt to keep the people waiting in line from getting bored. It doesn't work well if the wait is exceptionally long, but it does help when things are going smoothly.

Now, I've never been on the Cartoon Spin, but I'd love to at least once.