Posted by MichaelMulvaney
Over Christmas, a possible ferret sighting at Jerra Wetlands was reported on the Canberra Wildlife Photography group Facebook page and transferred to NatureMapr https://canberra.naturemapr.org/sightings/4538859
The reportee was asked to consider other possible species such as black rat, rakali, kitten, small dark bird, and black rabbit kitten and to provide more details of the sighting. The reportee had mentioned being familiar with rakali and that it was certainly not a rakali, and replied "Only got a glimpse as it crossed the path but there was just something about the movement that said “weasel” to me. It had a long slim body and all four legs were short. It was black all over but the main thing that caught my attention was the short, stubby but fluffy tail. It did not have a long thin tail with a white tip on it."
It is best to take a cautious approach in case the sighting is correct, and in case more than one individual ferret is present. Ferrets have established populations in temperate climate areas of Australia and have been the subject of control programs. The species is regarded nationally as ‘highly likely to establish wild popultations in Australia and become a pest of agriculture, the environment …’ At this stage there are still no feral populations considered impossible to eradicate in Australia. No other mustelids are present in Australia but if that were to change, the impact on Australian native species is expected to be severe, including for ground nesting species of birds.
