Straight from the “Wait, what?” files comes a story of how drones are saving ferrets…with M&M’s. It’s not science fiction — it’s a way to use modern technology to solve a growing problem. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is launching a plan to combat an invasive disease affecting one of the rarest animals in North America.
Black-footed ferrets are under threat from sylvatic plague. The plague originated more than a century ago when trade ships from Asia brought with them more than just cargo. Like any ship of the era, these vessels were often infested with rats, and these rodents carried fleas bearing the bacteria that causes sylvatic plague.
The disease is almost always fatal to both ferrets and prairie dogs, and has spread widely across the continent. Hunting and loss of habitat have contributed to the decline in the ferret population, so much so that in 1981, they were thought to be extinct. But for the few captive specimens, the black-footed ferret would be no more. Breeding programs helped the population rebound, and they were reintroduced back into the wild. Today, about 300 remain in the US.
While rounding up 300 black-footed ferrets to be inoculated against the disease might not sound too difficult, the ferrets are roommates with prairie dogs, sharing living space in their vast, underground warrens. So, the FWC hit upon a brilliant (if not a bit bizarre) idea: carpet bombing the area with vaccine-infused candy. In order to reach the widest area in the least invasive manner, they have constructed special drones to drop the candy throughout the UP Bend National Wildlife Refuge in Montana.
Other options, like spraying flea-killing insecticide or scattering the candy by hand, were nixed as being too risky or too time consuming. By spraying the M&M’s via drone, officials feel they can get a wider spread, as well as avoid having one or two prairie dogs hogging all the food for themselves. The M&M’s will be smeared with peanut butter laced with the vaccine, making a very attractive snack to both prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. Chocolate and peanut butter? Maybe the drones couldn’t handle Reese’s Cups.
Featured Image from Nathaniel Yeo/Unsplash
