Move Over, ‘Meerkat Manor’

As a victim of plagiarism, I am left wondering how many other works of mine have been purloined? And what does Edwards owe me? Does she owe me anything, aside from an apology and maybe a free, autographed copy of her book with an "attaboy" on the passage in question? My words did not enhance her novel. They were filler. I can imagine frustrated and horny readers cursing the ferrets and skipping ahead in search of the next nipple.

I'm no longer angry with Edwards. In fact, I feel sorry for her. The blogosphere is buzzing with irate calls to boycott Edwards's books and appearances. According to an interview she did with the Associated Press, she did not know she was supposed to quote source materials. Ignorance of law and ethics is no excuse, however. Plagiarism victimizes writers. It betrays the trust of readers. It tarnishes the craft of writing.

But there is another victim here that has been lost in the discussion: the ferrets.

About 1,000 black-footed ferrets exist in the wild. They were thought extinct until a small population was discovered in 1981. Eighteen survivors were taken into a captive breeding program that has yielded all the black-footed ferrets alive today. About 300 of these live in the Conata Basin, one of the largest and healthiest wild populations. Even here, however, these endangered species have no sanctuary.

Prairie dog colonies are being poisoned to protect drought-stricken grasslands for cattle, which compete with the rodents for grass. Ferrets, which are utterly dependent upon large prairie dog colonies, are on the brink of extinction because their prey has been largely eradicated.

Back in 1850, when ferrets existed across vast swaths of prairie, Shadow Bear and Shiona Bramlett never could have comprehended that those cute critters would one day face such troubles.