Drones could ease Montana prairie dog plague

WILDLIFE —   Wildlife biologists may be going to the air to save burrowing critters.

USFWS wants to use drones to deliver plague medication to prairie dog colonies in Montana
Prairie dogs are a vital part of the diet of endangered black-footed ferrets, but the burrowing rodents are susceptible to plague.

To keep a reliable supply of prairie dogs for ferrets to eat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to use drones to deliver peanut-butter flavored treats laced with medication to prevent plague in prairie dog colonies in the Charles M. Russell and UL Bend national wildlife refuges in northeastern Montana.

—Billings Gazette