Saturday we were at my lease just south of Comanche, and I had set up that night to do some predator calling. Got the ole Prey Master fired up around 9PM. It was very dark, even thought there was a sliver of the moon still out. I had been calling about 7 minutes, when I heard something run across the dirt road to my left. Put the spot light on the critter, and saw this short-legged thing going towards my call. Then got the scope on it and the scope light really lite the thing up. I could see it had black feet, gray body, gray/black head, and was only about 2-3 feet long. Then it turned to dart into the thickets, and I could also see it had a short tail. I ruled out a cat, because of its short legs.

So, when I got back home, I searched for what I thought it might be, and sure enough, I was right.....it was a ferret! ! !

It was probably an American Weasel... My parents have one around their house that I've seen a couple of times... Cool looking critters!

Well luckily and thankfully, I did not shoot the critter, for it seems that they are on the ESA list! Found this link too:

http://www.blackfootedferret.org/

And I did report my sighting of the BFF to the FCC - that's a Black Footed Ferret reported to the Ferret Conservation Center!

Very cool, and even cooler that you reported it. Only twice have I ever seen weasels/ferrets in the wild and were able to identify them as such. Recently, however, I have made two additional sightings of weasel/ferret/mink-looking critters based on size, shape, and gate, but were too far to properly identify.

A BFF sighting would be real wildlife observation feather in your cap.

congrats!

I have a place just west of Comanche, I'll keep a look out for these critters.

Sure it wasn't a badger ?

honey badget don't give a @$@#

Now the BFF is gonna come confiscate your property. It is all in the best interest of the Ferret!

Not on my place... we've owned it for 35 years.. Fox, Coyote, ringtail cats, raccoon, possom, bobcat and a few neighbor's domesticated animals.. but never seen a badger or a ferret on our place.

Same here . Never seen one where we hunt in 7 or more years. Then all the.sudden we seen one running across a field and was like WTF is that. He is now on my wall. Seen two others while driving around in same area in the past year

I supposed folks who weren't familiar with mammals might confuse the two, but badgers really are very different in appearance, gate/locomotion, and many activities. That isn't to say that people don't get confused by common animals. More than a few people, horses, and cattle have been shot as deer over the years.

Once you see a badger....you don't forget that look!

3D BADGER


TPWD BLACK FOOTED FERRET

if ya took a ferret & matched it with a perret now that would be wierd. probley end up with a dead bird

I was thinking the same thing.

I'd never confuse a badger with a ferret, nor would I ever fail to pull the trigger on a badger. My first encounter was when I was about 12, dove hunting, by myself...I thought it was a cat, I threw a rock at it, it turned around, swelled up, and started toward me. 3x 20 gauge 7 1/2 shot took care of it, and I was still shaking like a little sissy. I yanked a claw out of it and still have it somewhere...man, that was like 25 years ago. Definitely not a ferret! Haha!