The Fight to Save the Black-Footed Ferret
Alright, this is a topic that is a bit of a passion for me because I used to have ferrets as a kid. I can remember when I was around the age of eight, I saved up my twenty five dollars and I adopted one of the few ferrets that were left. The Black-Footed Ferret is quickly moving towards extinction. Scientists say that a colony that currently has half of America’s population of Black-Footed Ferrets was recently hit back the Plague (the same as the Black plague) and a third of these 300 ferrets have died already from it. This is scary, especially because of this…
In the 1970s, there were only 18 left in this area. However, with the careful work of scientists and the contributions from different people, they were able to increase that population. Three hundred might not seem like a lot, but when you only have eighteen to create that population, it’s a really great number.
The problem comes in, though, when the Plague hits again. We can fight the Plague off like its no big deal. A little antibiotics and we’re done. For ferrets, if they get the Plague, they’re dead. Simple as that, bada bing, bada boom, they’re gone. No sickness, just death. Because of this, if an outbreak happens in a ferret colony, a lot of them can die.
So, why should we care? The ferrets are another species on this planet. Although we have little interaction with them, they are an important part of the ecosystem. If the ferret population was high, ranchers in the area would not need to worry about prairie dogs eating all the grass that their herds need for grazing. A single ferret can eat 150 prairie dogs in one year. Sure, that’s not an overly abundant amount. But, 300 ferrets eating 150 prairie dogs is a bit more.
Scientists are finding ways to try and help the ferrets. They have developed a vaccine to really fight against it, but the truth is, it’s a very time costly job. Travis Livieri is doing everything in his power to try and save them. He wants the colony to grow again because they’ve been using the offspring from this colony to start other colonies. There aren’t many ferrets left. It’s unfortunate and there’s little people can do. But…There is something you can. Stop by the Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Program. Learn about it and if you can, donate. The population is dying because of this Plague and if we can help, I say we do it.
When one species dies, it can have catastrophic consequences for the overall ecosystem. Prairie dogs need their predator. The Black-Footed Ferret can be saved; however, it does take some work. This is just another example of how species are dying out and an example of the need for human intervention.
