The Rarest Mammal in North America Was Found In a Colorado Garage
Could you imagine walking into your garage and finding a wild animal just hanging out? To top it off, that animal is an endangered species and the rarest mammal in all of North America.
This incident happened at one Colorado home this week. A resident found a black-footed ferret in their Pueblo West garage on Monday. The home is located near the Walker Ranch, an area where the black-footed ferrets have been released.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife were able to get the black-footed ferret into a box and transported it back to the Walker Ranch. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers and biologists examined the cute little creature and determined it was one of the nine black-footed ferrets that were released in the area two weeks ago.
These black-footed ferrets that have been released into Walker Ranch have microchips much like our domesticated pets. This microchip was the identifying factor in determining that this black-footed ferret was from the group of nine released.
After the black-footed ferret was determined to be in healthy condition, not starving or sick, it was released back into the Walker Ranch. The video of its release can be seen here:
Colorado Parks and Wildlife say that this incident involving the black-footed ferret is extremely rare. Black-footed ferrets are a nocturnal animal that is extremely shy. This black-footed ferret may have left the Walker Ranch in search of shelter.
I know one thing, if I were this homeowner, I would probably feel extremely lucky to have witnessed such an occurrence as this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing to have happen in your garage.
Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife