<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Almost extinct in the ‘70s, black-footed ferrets celebrate 25 years since their rediscovery]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Biodiversivist http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:59:53 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/1 Make that a prarie dog sandwich

We almost wiped them out again when researchers accidently gave them a cat disease after rediscovering them.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

]]> Make that a prarie dog sandwich

We almost wiped them out again when researchers accidently gave them a cat disease after rediscovering them.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

]]> Comment #2 by Robert Delfs http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:13:14 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/2 Thanks, Kate...

...for "ferreting" this story out.

Robert Delfs

]]> Thanks, Kate...

...for "ferreting" this story out.

Robert Delfs

]]> Comment #3 by caniscandida http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:23:50 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/a-ferretible-accomplishment/3 "maybe a sandwich"

OK, but what kind?  Tunafish on a kaiser roll?  Pastrami on rye with brown mustard?  Grilled cheese?

Seriously, I wonder what ferrets might eat, aside from prairie dogs, and other small vertebrates.

Their brush with extinction is attributed to the widespread killing off of prairie dogs, apparently their favorite prey.  Presumably that is true.  But in that case, it does not fit the general pattern of the way in which predators tend to be driven to extinction.  Wolves, bears, seals, dolphins, tigers, raptors, etc. tend to be demonized as "competitors" for the same prey animals that humans want to hunt, and that is how they get into trouble.  Not so, though, with ferrets, I think.

But my basic question is: Do ferrets scavenge from carcasses?  And if so, is their decline in any way due to their feeding from poisoned carcasses, set especially for wolves and coyotes?

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

]]> "maybe a sandwich"

OK, but what kind?  Tunafish on a kaiser roll?  Pastrami on rye with brown mustard?  Grilled cheese?

Seriously, I wonder what ferrets might eat, aside from prairie dogs, and other small vertebrates.

Their brush with extinction is attributed to the widespread killing off of prairie dogs, apparently their favorite prey.  Presumably that is true.  But in that case, it does not fit the general pattern of the way in which predators tend to be driven to extinction.  Wolves, bears, seals, dolphins, tigers, raptors, etc. tend to be demonized as "competitors" for the same prey animals that humans want to hunt, and that is how they get into trouble.  Not so, though, with ferrets, I think.

But my basic question is: Do ferrets scavenge from carcasses?  And if so, is their decline in any way due to their feeding from poisoned carcasses, set especially for wolves and coyotes?

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

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