SPORTING ANSWERS
Is it worth using a probe?
FERRETING
Q I have noticed from reading your articles and watching your films that you always dig and use a probe. Does using one really make a difference?
A I think it was Torchie, a good friend of mine, who introduced me to the pleasures of digging and using a probe.
To the uninformed, a probe is a spike or ‘T’ bar. This is used to ‘probe’ the ground when digging to your ferret. I find that the vast majority of ferreters nowadays never go ferreting without one. When you look at its benefits, it is easy to understand why.
Once you have located your ferret, the first few spits of earth are removed. Then, when you are getting nearer to the ferret’s location, as read on your ferret finder’s depth gauge, the probe is pushed into the ground to locate the pipe — similar to a mole-catcher looking for a mole run.
This gives you an indication of direction and depth. It also prevents over-exuberant digging that could injure or decapitate a ferret.
Experienced ferrets normally move off when the roof starts to shake and cave in. SW
Long-toothed deer query
DEER
Q Do the Chinese water deer we have in England grow the longest teeth found in deer? And are the longest ones found in old or young animals?
A Although the Chinese water deer is the best-known non-antlered deer for most British stalkers, it shares its measurement formula with another long-toothed, antlerless deer — the musk deer.
The musk deer has several species and subspecies, of which the Siberian
