My Wife and I were in Colorado Springs over the weekend, so we dropped by
the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to see the black-footed ferrets there.  They're in
a darkened building with the bats, in a plexiglass display.  I'd never seen
live black-footed ferrets before, and once my eyes adjusted to the dark,
there they were.  They looked more or less like sable ferrets with big ears
and short tails.  There were four of them, one slept the whole time we were
there, and the others seemed bent on cleaning themselves the whole time.
One of them got up to go potty, and she lifted her tail and backed into a
corner.  It's funny how much they move and behave like their domestic
cousins.  I even heard (thru the plexiglass) one cough, which sounded
just like Bungee when she coughs.
  The Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo has an "Adopt-An-Animal" program, and I'm going to
"adopt" a black-footed ferret.(Well, you know, you send in $$$ and they
send you a newsletter and your name gets put on the wall etc. -who knows
where the $$$ really goes..)  I was wondering if some of us would like to
go together to "adopt" in the name of the FML.  Send no $$$ now, I'm just
asking if anyone's interested...
  Just one thing bugged me about the ferrets' accommodations.  Their bedding
consisted of, you guessed it, *WOOD SHAVINGS*.  Might this be as bad for
black-footed ferrets as for our own furries?  If the wood in question is
not cedar, is it all right?  I'm thinking of writing a letter to go with my
donation, but I don't want to sound like a crackpot who thinks he knows
better than they.  I know they're doing everything possible for the ferret's
health, since they're *so* endangered, but after all I've read on the FML
about wood shavings, I can't help but wonder...
 
                                 A Eric Rinehart
                   Internet:[log in to unmask]
         How many nets would a network work if a network could work nets?
 
[Posted in FML issue 0731]