In case you missed it, our friend, the black-footed ferret was recently associated with a plagiarism scandal.  No, the black-footed ferret was not the guilty party.  It seems as though romance novelist, Cassie Edwards, used pieces from a story about black-footed ferrets to enhance her novel "Shadow Bear," about a Lakota chief who finds love with a feisty pioneer. 

Okay, so the passages don't actually enhance the story at all.  They are quite scientific compared to the rest of the romantic story line, which only helps to lend credence to the plagiarism accusation.  Judge for yourself.  This is a scene from "Shadow Bear" where the two main characters discuss black-footed ferrets:

"They are so named because of their dark legs," Shadow Bear says, to which Shiona responds: "They are so small, surely weighing only about two pounds and measuring two feet from tip to tail."

Shiona then tells Shadow Bear how she once read about ferrets in a book she took from the study of her father. "I discovered they are related to minks and otters. It is said their closest relations are European ferrets and Siberian polecats," she says. "Researchers theorize that polecats crossed the land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska, to establish the New World population."

Not quite the stuff of fairy tales.  Here is the corresponding passage from Paul Tolme's article entitled "Toughing It Out in the Badlands":

Black-footed ferrets, so-named because of their dark legs, weigh about two pounds and measure two feet from tip to tail. Related to mink and otters, they are North America's only native ferret (and a different species than the ferrets kept as pets). Their closest relatives are European ferrets and Siberian polecats. Researchers theorize polecats crossed the land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska to establish the New World population.

Hmm... Either way, all of us at Center for Native Ecosystems are just happy that one of the most endangered mammals in North America is getting the attention it deserves.

Listen to as interview with Paul Tolme on NPR's Talk of the Nation.