Baby Sea Turtles Rescued From the Gulf Oil Spill, Relocated to Florida's Space Coast

Reprinted with permission:

Have Prairie Dog, Will Travel

The Thunder Basin National Grassland in Wyoming is the site of a new recovery habitat for North America’s most endangered mammal, the Black-Footed Ferret. But before any ferrets can be introduced, conservationists need to ensure that the eco-system will support them. To do that, the U.S. Forest Service began relocating black-tailed prairie dogs to the area in July and continuing through August.

The black-tailed prairie dogs have long been considered pests to ranchers, making them the target of mass poisonings and sport shooting. Consequently, prairie dog populations plummeted which in turn caused a decline in species that eat them, especially the black-footed ferret.

So now a team of federal agencies and conservation organizations including the U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, World Wildlife Fund, and the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance are relocating prairie dogs from two sites considered too close to private land to the Thunder Basin National Grassland area. This prairie dog relocation effort is the first of its kind on U.S. Forest Service land, and Forest Service agents hope to reintroduce the black-footed ferrets as soon as 2011.

Stamps to the Rescue!

Stamps to the Rescue!

The other day a friend of mine brought this news article to my attention:

Va. police find ferret in the mail


Stamps the ferret was shipped from a Lynchburg post office in a cardboard box stuffed with food, toy cars and a doll. The destination was a town near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Stamps may have made it there -- had he stopped wiggling.


A postal inspector, David McKinney, got the call about it at his Roanoke office on the afternoon of Monday, April 5, hours after Stamps and the package had been deposited and $63.55 was paid for overnight delivery.


“The box was dropped off at 2 p.m., and it started moving about 5 p.m.,” McKinney said. “Periodically, it would just vibrate. The postal workers put their hand on the box and it kind of freaked them out.”

The story ended well, though:

McKinney took the ferret to the Roanoke Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection, where the fur ball stayed 13 days. On Monday he was moved to the Roanoke Valley SPCA, where attendants started calling him Stamps and he was put up for adoption.


“You'd be surprised. Some people just have a thing for ferrets,” said Bill Watson, executive director of the Roanoke Valley SPCA.


Indeed. Stamps clawed Wednesday onto the polo shirt of a ferret fan, Craig Bradley, who paid the $25 adoption fee and took him home to join the 16 ferrets in his house near Bonsack. (Bradley and his wife are co-founders of the Big Lick Ferret Shelter & Hospice.)

So imagine my surprise when I saw this headline today:

Stamps to the Rescue!

My first thought was, of course, Stamps the ferret! In actuality, though, it is the new stamp series issued last month by the U.S. Post Office to

“continue a Postal Service tradition of bringing attention to serious social issues of the day … one letter at a time,” said Potter. “This campaign will increase public awareness about sheltered pets and our hope is that it will encourage pet adoption and promote humane and responsible pet care.”

Now, if only the stamp series included a photo of Stamps the Ferret.

Black-Footed Ferret Populations Increasing in the AVEPA

Did you know that black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), one of North America’s most endangered mammals, was once so elusive they were thought to have never existed?

In 1851, naturalist John James Audubon first described black-footed ferrets from a single specimen. For the next 25 years no other specimens were found, nor were there any other sightings in the wild. Even the original specimen disappeared leading to speculation that no such animal had ever existed!

Luckily Dr. Elliot Coues was able to document additional specimens in 1874. They disappeared again in 1974 and were feared to be extinct. In 1981 a small group were discovered in Wyoming, then nearly wiped out by canine distemper just a few years later.

But black-footed ferrets are coming back from the brink of extinction… again! And Arizona’s Game and Fish Department is an important part of that effort. Arizona’s reintroduction effort is helping to establish a free-ranging, self-sustaining population of black-footed ferrets in the Aubrey Valley Experimental Population Area (AVEPA), with a second ferret reintroduction site planned. Last month’s count shows record gains in AVEPA’s black-footed ferret population.

Game and Fish personnel along with a record 103 volunteers (including 61 in one night) worked from dusk to dawn from March 25-29 spotlighting for the nocturnal black-footed ferret.

“It’s exciting news,” said Jeff Corcoran, supervisor for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s black-footed ferret recovery effort in Seligman. “The results and the interest level provide hope for the continued success in the recovery of this endangered animal.”

The crew had 54 captures overall (42 individual ferrets with 12 being captured more than once), and 17 were captured in one night. All established new highs for the project. Of the 42 individuals, 29 had never before been trapped.

“We’ve never caught that many ferrets before, and we did so before this year’s breeding and reproduction,” Corcoran said.

A total of 60 never previously captured wild-born ferrets, were trapped in two spotlighting efforts in 2009.

“I’m excited about the numbers,” Corcoran said. “You think about this one spotlighting effort and compare it to where the ferrets once were and you can’t help but be pleased.”

According to BlackFootedFerret.org:

The 1988 Recovery Plan for the black-footed ferret calls for the establishment of 10 or more separate, free-ranging wild populations. By the year 2010, biologists hope to have 1500 ferrets established in the wild, with no fewer than 30 breeding adults in each population. If these objectives are met, the ferret could be downlisted from endangered to threatened status.

The fall spotlighting in the AVEPA will take place in October. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the black-footed ferret field station at azferret@azgfd.govto receive more information. And be sure to write to me about your experience!

Search Amazon.com for black-footed ferrets

April 2, 2010 - National Ferret Day

Did you know that today is National Ferret Day? I didn’t either until I looked at my Petco Foundation  calendar this morning. But a quick google search reveals that National Ferret Day has been on the National Special Events Registry since 1995!

So in honor of Bam, our little bundle of snuggles that left us too soon, the others have come up with a list of ways to celebrate National Ferret Day:

As a rescued ferret himself, Dude would like for you to visit “Support Our Shelters” to find a ferret rescue & shelter organization near you. With thousands of ferrets in shelters all over the country, these organizations gladly welcome donations of time, money and supplies. Tell them Dude sent you.

As our most senior ferret, Robyn’s hope for National Ferret Day is that everyone becomes more educated about ferret care. Ferrets are totally different from the caged rodents they are too often mistaken for, yet their needs are also very different from those of dogs and cats. Robyn thinks that the best holiday for ferrets is every day in an educated ferret-friendly home. Robyn recommends Brenda’s Ferret Universe to get you started.

Bandit asks that everyone adopt one of his cousins, the Black-footed ferret. The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) are the only ferret species native to North America. The black-footed ferret is also one of the most endangered mammals in the world and has been on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species list since l967. Bandit likes to visit the BlackFootedFerret.org and PrairieWildlife.org websites because he thinks his cousins look a lot like him with their dark masks!

Little Willie reminds us that ferrets are kissers, not criminals; so he wants you to help legalize ferrets in California. The ferrets sold in the USA as pets are a domesticated European species. They are typically already neutered before sale or adoption, and “in 1997 the Department of Fish and Game conducted a survey of all fifty state wildlife departments. The results of this survey clearly show that ferrets have never formed a feral colony or bred in the wild anywhere in the United States.” There is no valid reason for Californian ferrets owners to have be in fear every day that their domesticated ferrets will be confiscated and euthanized. Visit LegalFerrets.org to see how you can help.

And Nona just wants you to bring your favorite ferrets some new toys... lots and lots of toys. So typical of Nona to be thinking about playtime! Tubes and durable tub toys are Nona’s favorites. She also loves bouncing around in her rice box. Everything Ferret has a great list of toy & game ideas. Or you can buy toys through Broward Ferret Rescue & Referral’s link to Ferret.com and a portion of your purchase will help support this fine ferret shelter too!

How will you celebrate National Ferret Day?

Adopt a Ferret

Did you know that the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is the only species of ferret native to North America? Our domesticated ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) come from Europe. Black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct until a Wyoming farmer found one in 1981. The species remains one of the most endangered mammals in North America, second only to the Florida panther. That it is no longer the most endangered mammal is in large part thanks to the work being done by the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program. The captive breeding program began in October of 1985, and nearly failed when all of the captive animals died of canine distemper. The program struggled along with increasing success for the next 10 years. Then (from their web site)...

"The Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (BFFRIT) was created in 1996 to more effectively integrate the expertise and resources of various parties contributing to the recovery of the black-footed ferret. The BFFRIT is a multi-agency/ conservation organization effort, led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which includes representatives from federal and state governments, zoos, and nonprofit organizations. The team was created pursuant to Section 4(f)(2) of the amended Endangered Species Act which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to procure the services of appropriate public and private agencies, institutions, and other qualified persons to help implement endangered species recovery plans. The goal of the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan is to establish 10 or more widely separated, self-sustaining, wild black-footed ferret populations in order to consider downlisting of the species to "threatened" status. Although the role of the BFFRIT is strictly advisory in nature, the team assists in the development of national guidance, provides recommendations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the appropriate conduct, methods, and priorities for ferret recovery efforts, and reviews any future revision or update of the black-footed ferret recovery plan."

As part of the BFFRIT's fund-raising and public education efforts, and in cooperation with the Prairie Wildlife Research organization, we can adopt a Black-Footed Ferret of our own for just $25. The money goes towards purchasing vaccines, supplies and equipment needed for the captive breeding and reintroduction program. You will receive a Certificate of Adoption; a biography, color photograph and updates about your adopted black-footed ferret and species recovery; and a magnet with species information.

This brings new meaning to BFF, doesn't it?

Black-Footed Ferrets in Steamy Sex Scandal

It's all over the internet... Romance novelist Cassie Edwards used entire passages from Paul Tolme's article in her book, Shadow Bear. Reading Paul's article about the incident in Newsweek had me laughing out loud.

"They are so named because of their dark legs," Shadow Bear says, to which Shiona responds: "They are so small, surely weighing only about two pounds and measuring two feet from tip to tail."

Shiona then tells Shadow Bear how she once read about ferrets in a book she took from the study of her father. "I discovered they are related to minks and otters. It is said their closest relations are European ferrets and Siberian polecats," she says. "Researchers theorize that polecats crossed the land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska, to establish the New World population."

I know that the language in romance novels can be often be stilted, but a pioneer woman talking about "Researchers theorize" and the Bering land bridge and "the New World" was just too funny.

That said, I'm glad she did it. Had she not, I might not have discovered Paul Tolme's articles, and that would have been unfortunate indeed. In addition to "Toughing It Out in the Badlands", which provided that scintillating post-coital conversation in "Shadow Bear", I highly recommend "Pure Poison" about proposals to kill thousands of prarie dogs in South Dakota. As any ferret fan knows, those endangered prarie dogs are vitally important to the survival of the black-footed ferret, the only native species of ferret we have.

In future entries, I will be writing more about this situation, as well as discussing the importance of the very same prarie lands these animals live on to our ecological well-being. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy Paul Tolme's articles as much as I have, and be sure to visit his web site for even more great articles.