In the prairies of the Lower Brulé Indian Reservation, the typically knee-high grass extends to the horizon. But in areas home to burrowing mammals, like prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), the grass shrinks to an inch in height as the animals feed their vigorous appetite. After sunset one September day, wildlife biologist Shaun Grassel drives through […]
Tag: Black-footed ferret
Black-footed ferrets riding out COVID-19 with a vaccine and a lot of TLC
In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic took off in the United States just as the breeding season for the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) commenced. Disease is always at the forefront of the mind for the conservationists who work with this human-dependent species, but the pandemic kicked things into high gear. Suddenly, breeders at seven different […]
An invisible enemy: the battle to save black-footed ferrets from the plague
Every year, from August to November, Travis Livieri becomes nocturnal. The field biologist goes out in his truck in Conata Basin, South Dakota, armed with a spotlight in search of one of the most endangered mammals in North America: the black-footed ferret. When the light catches the reflective green shine of the ferret’s eyes, he […]
Drones to unleash vaccine-laced pellets to save endangered ferrets
The US government is set to unleash drones that fire vaccine-laced pellets in a bid to save the endangered black-footed ferret, a species that is facing a plague epidemic across America’s great plains. The US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) has developed a plan to bombard ferret habitat in Montana with the vaccine, which will be […]
The U.S. House of Representatives Declares War on Wildlife and the Environment
Can the second session of the 113th U.S. House of Representatives be any more harmful to wildlife and the environment than the first session of 2013? It appears that they can! On January 3, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives convened to start its second session of the 113th Congress. By the end of the […]
The Tea Party Hits a New Low With Attack on Endangered Species
While conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) last week, Tea Party members were busy working on a bill to gut the act, which will put the most vulnerable plants and animals at even more risk. The ESA was enacted in 1973 in an effort to protect the […]
Protected Species May be Killed by Proposed Prairie Dog Control, Environmental Groups Charge
(Washington, D.C., October 16 , 2012) Defenders of Wildlife, American Bird Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Audubon of Kansas have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject an application by Scimetrics to use the rodenticide Kaput-D for the control of black-tailed prairie dogs in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, […]