Surprise Visitor: BFF found in CO homeowner's Garage

BFF discovered in Colorado homeowner’s garage

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Pueblo West, Colorado— Nov 10:  The rarest mammal in North America made a surprise appearance inside the garage of a southern Colorado homeowner.  On Nov 8th an endangered and rare black-footed ferret (BFF) was found inside a garage in Pueblo West, according to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW).

After making the discovery, the homeowners were able to coax the ferret into a box and then contacted the  CPW.  The garage, located near the Walker Ranch, is where CPW and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have been releasing black-footed ferrets on a prairie dog colony in an effort to restore the endangered mammal in the wild.  Since 2013, more than 120 BFFs have been released on the Walker Ranch location.

Each ferret raised for release gets a passive integrated transponder (PIT) microchip inserted between its shoulder blades.  Using a scanning device, a BFF can be identified from the information contained in the PIT microchips.  An officer from Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region was able to respond with a portable scanner and  confirmed the ferret visitor was one of nine BFFs recently released at a 1,600-acre prairie dog colony at the Walker Ranch nearby.

After determining the garage-crashing BFF appeared healthy, Officers Cassidy English and  Travis Sauder hiked deep into a Walker Ranch prairie dog colony in the dark and  re-released the ferret back into the wild.  

A video of the ferret's release is at:  https://twitter.com/i/status/1458473929857650690

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