Once Upon A Midnight Prairie

"What's that?" I shout.  Barb, one of Wind Cave National Park's wildlife science technicians, quickly backs up and we immediately start to spotlight the prairie.  I’ve now got eye-shine in my sight.  “Right there!” I exclaim very excitedly.

It has now been about five hours driving up and down the highways in the southern end of Wind Cave National Park and this eye-shine seems to be the first promising sighting.  “I can’t quite get a good look at it and am unable to tell what it might be,” says Barb.  Barb, having the brightest spotlight of us all then shines her beam across the prairie when Toni, a fellow interpreter here at Wind Cave announces “we’ve got one!” 

I double check and see she is right.  I can now clearly see a weasel like creature with a white patch of fur on its neck and two of the brightest green beady eyes I have ever seen that are now staring straight back at me.  

We’re on the adventure of a lifetime!  A group of volunteers made up of folks from the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, college students from Blacks Hills State and Chadron University, and folks with a passion for wildlife, are looking for the elusive Black-Footed Ferret within the boundaries of Wind Cave National Park.

Black-Footed Ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America, and were at one time believed to be extinct.  Today, with many reintroduction efforts put forth by dedicated agencies and individuals, the wild Black-Footed Ferret population is on the rise.

Black-Footed Ferrets are elusive, spending about 90% of its life underground, making it rare to see one of these magnificent creatures.  The best chance of being able to see a ferret in the wild are typically from late summer to early fall, and being that they are a nocturnal mammal, night time is the best time to see them.

Besides their triumphant comeback story the thing I personally find the most fascinating about the Black-Footed Ferret is that their diet consists of 90% prairie dog.  When I first heard this tidbit of information in seasonal training I couldn’t understand how that worked.  The reason I had a hard time grasping this fact is because of the mere size of the prairie dog compared to the ferret.  They are almost identical in size and in some cases it seems that the prairie dog can be much larger.  So how was it that a ferret had the capabilities of capturing and devouring an animal its own size?  It’s because the ferret attacks the prairie dog while they are in a deep sleep. 

Ferrets are very stealthy animals that glide through the prairie dog burrows at night then they will intentionally wake the prairie dog from its slumber to have them wake up.  The startled prairie dog jerks upward now exposing its neck allowing the ferret to attack the jugular and that is how it makes its kill… not pretty, but the how it happens.  That is why they are a primarily nocturnal animal, that’s when all their hunting is done.  

Now knowing the scarcity and likelihood of seeing a Black-Footed Ferret I feel incredibly lucky!  Here I am getting the opportunity to not only see one but also come face to face with such a fascinating creature.  I always knew that Black-Footed Ferrets were incredibly important but when the cute little critter is laying in your arms that feeling of importance really hits home.  Plus they are super cute!  Their precious little face, cute button like noses, and there black ninja-like masks make them so incredibly adorable.

When you go to catch Black-Footed Ferrets it is no simple task.  It consists of a lot of tedious work, but it makes it well worth it (or in my case it did) when you get to see one.  I admit to have fallen asleep for a short amount of time each time I have been out looking for ferrets, and I didn’t even have it that hard.  I was stationed in a vehicle, meaning we had the better opportunity to spotlight a diversity of areas.  Not all were as fortunate as some had to hike out on the prairie all night long with at least 40 pound packs on their back (bless them all!)  In our case we drove up and down the roads in the park from 7 pm until 6:30 am.  Within that time we spotlighted out the windows looking for any glimpse of eye-shine.

Once you see the eye-shine for the first time you never forget it.  It looks as if two giant green emeralds are staring straight back at you and this often times is a sure clue as to spotting a ferret… but not in all cases.  For some reason this particular night we came across over a dozen Poor-Wills, a bird found out in this area related to the Whip-Poor-Will.  Each time a light shone on them if gave us the falsehood of believing we had spotted a ferret but in reality it was bird after bird, having spotted the bird so many times in the night we later gave it the nickname “ferret bird”. 

Now after the eye-shine is spotted there needs to be a confirmation of a ferret.  After it has been confirmed you run out the trap and the survey marker to the burrow in which the ferret was spotted.  Below is a picture of the equipment used. 

The long cage is the actually trap.  At one end of the cage it is circular in shape and is the size of a typically prairie dog hole.  The cage is typically covered in the tan like cloth and you then set the trap.  After the trap is set you shove the cage into the burrow and pile dirt near the sides as to cover the chances of any light shining through.  The ferret now thinking it is just traveling up through a burrow climbs up the cage and steps on the trap which just closes a door behind them.  You also place a survey marker out with a number on it as to identify which burrow it is in and are able to see it from the roadway. 

Now the ferret doesn’t always immediately go into the trap, in fact it usually takes quite awhile.  So after placing the trap you once again go back to the vehicle spotlighting up and down.  After awhile you check your traps and can typically see green eye-shine in the trap from the roadway.  That is where the black tube comes into play. 

Immediately after knowing you have a ferret you grab the black tube and run to the burrow.  You are greeted by the sweetest face ever when you reach the cage but soon to come is the most startling noise you’ve ever heard.  The ferret out of defense does this incredibly loud chatter like noise and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard it each time it scares the bejesus out of you.  I admit I had an incredible childlike innocence when I saw my first ferret.  I kept saying to my fellow surveyors “Oh my gosh, this is so cool.  I can’t believe we caught a ferret.  Seriously this is so awesome!!”  I was incredibly stoked and had a complete perma-grin.  I knew that we might get the opportunity to see a ferret but I had no idea we would actually be getting that close and handling them… score! 

After the “oh’s and ah’s” we needed to transport the little bugger.  You unwrap the tan cloth and get the ferret to face the direction of the trap door opening.  You open one end of the black tube and quickly slide it into the open door of the trap.  You wait patiently for the ferret to climb into the black tube and then quickly put the sliding door back on… and ta da, you have a ferret!  How cool is that? 

Once you have the ferret you carry them on your lap and take them to the veterinarian.  The veterinarians are then able to put the animal under anesthesia.  Once asleep they are able to identify the sex, the age, and the health of the ferret. 



Taking temperature.

 


Checking the teeth to determine age.

 






Brushing the fur to check for ticks and fleas.

 





Inserting a microchip.
Plague and distemper vaccine given.





Placing a hair dye stain on the chest.



They then put the ferret into an animal carrier and allow them to fully wake up.  Once wide-eyed and bushy-tailed we once again come and pick them up and place them in the exact burrow we caught them from originally.  Releasing the ferret is an incredibly amazing experience!

I never thought that this opportunity would have impacted me as much as it did.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been given this opportunity.  Throughout this journey I’ve had once in a lifetime experiences, gained a greater appreciation for the Black-Footed Ferrets, met incredible people, and have renewed my love for Wind Cave National Park. 

I have never seen such dedication and passion for something like I have while doing these surveys.  Barb, the technician, showed a love for the creature that seemed unmatched and her enthusiasm allowed each of us to also have that amazing experience and appreciation!   I think it is fair to say for those lucky enough to see the ferret first-hand it truly is a life changing experience!!