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 180

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 180

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. Ferret 492 — a black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes — raises her head from a black-tailed prairie dog’s burrow, sniffs the April night. Not Ferret 492, though.

Ferrets 167

Ferrets Prairie Dogs Coyotes Kittens 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2012

I had noted that if you took a quick look around you’d think there were a lot of birds and very few mammals. Of course, a lot of the mammals would be hiding. Other felids are all much larger, the similar sized carnivores are things like minks and ferrets, and they have very different habits.

Cats 177

Cats Boston Ferrets Killing 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. Ferrets, stoats and weasels were released and quickly became destructive vermin in their own right, quickly causing the extinction of the Laughing Owl and stymieing efforts to establish game birds. Part of the world they wanted to transport was natural.

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 257

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 257