I think it sounds like a load of hooey. Now I think that exactly how much heat a ferret can tolerate depends in part on what sort of environment they have been used to-- a couple of years ago on a day in the 78 degree range but quite humid I went on a walk carrying two of my ferrets in my arms. By 4 blocks from the house they were panting, becoming lethargic, etc.-- clearly too warm, and back home we went in a hurry. But I kept my air conditioned home at 77 and the humidity indoors was much lower. It certainly felt much cooler indoors to me! Given the drought and extreme heat here in D/FW the last 2 or 3 summers, I'd say survival chances are zip even before considering food needs and predator avoidance for animals that are domesticated and had spent a part of their lives caged and feed kibble of some sort. I think the guy is either 1) yanking your chain or 2) some family really turned some ferrets loose and maybe this someone has seen some sort of wild animal living in the area. In Texas in general there are a lot of species that an uneducated person might mistake for a ferret, some of which have even been known to be kept as pets occasionally. The Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife publishes a book on Texas mammals. The 1984 version of this book shows distribution maps for several of these species that show both ranges and counties in which the animal has been specifically reported. Tarrant county (where Keller is for those who don't know) has at times reported: Long-tailed Weasels Mink Black-tailed Prairie Dogs Ringtails Raccoons Oppossums Skunks (2 species) Nutria (a type of beaver with a rat-like tail) and so on. I myself have seen beavers (not nutria type) in two places in Tarrant county in the past five years in well developed areas. If you really want to know, I suggest that you find out where exactly it is that this guy lives and call the city of Keller departments of public works and animal control to ask about the story. I suspect that either no one will have heard about this supposed incident or that you'll find the animals relocated were NOT ferrets. If the city indeed says they moved critters they believe were ferrets, find out were they sent them. It would likely be a wildlife rehabber that you could contact to find out what was really involved. But I doubt you'll have to go nearly that far. Debra in Fort Worth [Posted in FML issue 3290]