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Finding A Way Back For Ferrets - Ferret
Behavior
by Elizabeth Schleichert
It's dusk on the North American plains. The small, brown head of a male
black-footed ferret pops up from the entrance to a tunnel. He looks around,
alert for danger. When he senses that all is well, he bounds into the open.
The ferret leaps and lopes through the short grasses. He pauses now and
again, rising up on his hind legs. He sniffs for signs of coyote, badger,
eagle,
or owl--his worst enemies. Then off he leaps again.
Before you know it, he's dropped into another tunnel. With a flick of his
tail, he's gone.
PRAIRIE DOG BUILDERS
To understand black-footed ferrets, first you have to know something about
prairie dogs. Prairie dogs are really a kind of ground squirrel. Millions of
them once lived in huge colonies, called towns, all across the American
prairies. Each town was made up of a maze of tunnels that the prairie dogs
had
dug underground.
These tunnels were homes for the prairie dogs. But they were also an
important part of the prairie. The tunnels helped rainwater flow deep
underground. That let deep-rooted grasses get enough water, even during dry
weather. And other animals besides prairie clogs lived in the tunnels
too--including black-footed ferrets.
The ferrets hunted mostly at night. Each one would pop in and out of
hundreds
of prairie dog burrows in search of a meal--which was almost always a tasty
prairie dog.
The ferret's hot-dog shape was perfect for an underground life. Its long,
low
body and short legs were great for scurrying through narrow burrows. And
what if
a hungry coyote poked its nose down a burrow where a ferret was hiding? No
problem. The ferret could flip backward in that tiny space--and go in the
opposite direction.
Over thousands of years, ferrets and prairie dogs lived together. Then
people
brought cattle and sheep to the plains, and everything changed.
SETTLERS BRING CHANGES
In the late 1800s, settlers started destroying the huge prairie dog
colonies.
(The settlers thought that prairie dog towns ruined the land for their
cattle
and sheep.) The ferrets had barely anywhere left to live and almost nothing
to
eat. They died off by the thousands. Finally, everyone thought the ferrets
were
extinct.
But then came a great surprise. In the early 1980s, scientists found some
ferrets. The animals were living in a few Wyoming prairie dog towns that
hadn't
been destroyed.
The scientists captured some ferrets to study, and they watched over the
rest
in the wild. Everyone was hopeful until more trouble came--the newly
discovered
ferrets began dying from diseases.
Scientists were alarmed by the deaths. So they rescued 18 ferrets--all the
ones they could find in the wild. Luckily, they had enough males and females
to
breed. Everyone was thrilled when kits were born. Now maybe the ferrets had
a
chance!
PUT THEM BACK--FOR THE FUTURE
In 1991, some ferrets were returned to the wild in Wyoming. Since then,
hundreds have been freed in protected prairie dog towns in South Dakota,
Montana, and Arizona.
But the ferrets' problems aren't over. Ferrets raised in captivity aren't
good at surviving on their own. So scientists put the ferrets in fake
prairie
dog towns. There, the ferrets learn to hunt.
Many different groups are helping ferrets, including the National Wildlife
Federation (the group that puts out this magazine). They're making sure the
ferrets have a chance for a good future!
COPYRIGHT 1998 National Wildlife FederationCOPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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