10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

Sorry for banging on about black-footed ferrets, but here’s a bit on why this trip was so special to me: Forty years ago the black-footed ferret was a bit more like the Loch Ness Monster than it is today. By the time everyone came to an agreement that the black-footed ferret existed, it was already getting scarce.

Ferrets 184

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

As lovely as the Sage Grouse were, our trip had another primary mission — to see the amazing, highly endangered black-footed ferret. If we get close enough we might see a pink maw and slivers of white teeth, ready to take a prairie dog by the throat and choke the life out but also rather perversely adorable.

Ferrets 169

Ferrets Prairie Dogs Coyotes Kittens 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

They took dogs to Australia, chickens across the Pacific, rabbits to England, horses to the New World, and then brought potatoes back. There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. Possums still strip our native forests, ferrets and stoats and possums still devastate our native birds.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

New Zealand has been the recipient of a higher than average number of introduced species, in particular a range of mammals from elk to mice. This is quite a big deal for an island group that had no mammals save bats for millions of years. The principal poison used in New Zealand its sodium flouroacetate , commonly known as 1080.

Animal Rights 262

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 262