Up to 40 ferrets will be pitted against one another in a series of Olympic-style competitions next week. These include paper bag escapes, tube runs, cup tips and a new Ben-Hur-inspired event, “Chariots of Fire.”
The 20th Annual Ferret Agility Trials will take place from noon until 4 p.m. on Sept. 13 in Emerald Park (1400 Lake Dr). The competition, free to the public, will also feature auctions, carnival-style games that cost a quarter each and a “Bandit Boutique” store that sells pet-related products, which will benefit the shelter’s operations. The event is an annual fundraiser for Eugene’s Lane Area Ferret Shelter and Rescue, located at 323 Exeter Ave.
Previously the Ferret Agility Trials event was deemed “Ferret Olympics” before the U.S. Olympic Committee called the shelter in 2005 and threatened to sue for unauthorized use of a trademarked name.
“I thought it was a big joke at first. I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” said Shelter Manager Melanee Ellis. “I was telling her, ‘You’re full of crap.’ I was not being very polite.’”
The story was covered by numerous outlets, including The Oregonian, AP Associated Press, BBC in London, “Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” Huffington Post and NBC News.
Since then, the weasel tournament was rebranded as The Ferret Agility Trials. In 2010, Animal Planet visited the Agility Trials for a “Little Pets” special.
The Emerald spoke with Ellis about what to expect at this year’s Ferret Agility Trials.
Paper Bag Escape
Ellis: You put your ferret in a paper bag, roll the bag down three times. When we say, ‘Go,’ you let go of the paper bag. Whoever comes out of the paper bag first wins.
Cup Tip
Ellis: We put several cups in an array on the ground and you put the ferret in the middle of those cups and whoever tips the most cups in 30 seconds is the gold medal winner.
Emerald: They don’t know they’re supposed to tip the cups, right?
Ellis: It’s something most ferrets like to do anyway. They like to knock stuff over.
Tube Run
Emerald: How long is the tube run?
Ellis: It’s an 8 or 9 foot tube and we race five at a time. You run five ferrets through and time them. You record the time when they come out and we do 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
Emerald: Are all five ferrets being raced in five tubes? Or do you race five ferrets in one tube?
Ellis: (laughs) There’s five tubes stretched out on the grass. One ferret per tube.
Strength Contest
Each ferret is bound via harness to a Frisbee, which is weighed down with disc plates. The next ferret has to pull the same weight in order to declare the first, second and third place victors.
Ellis: A 1.5 pound female pulled the most weight one year. I think she pulled five pounds of weight. … This is something their ancestors would have done, because you’d have to pull your prey into the burrow to eat it. You’d have to drag something along, usually much heavier than they were.
Yawning Contest
Emerald: How is the yawning contest judged?
Ellis: The owner has to make the ferret yawn, and we count the number of yawns in 30 seconds. You have to be able to see the ferret’s back teeth in order for it to be confirmed as a yawn.
Emerald: How do you make a ferret yawn?
Ellis: If you scruff them, they yawn. Some people scratch their ears, that makes them yawn. Blowing in their face sometimes makes a ferret yawn. Ferrets like to yawn. They’re very sleepy critters. They can sleep up to 18 hours a day.
Chariots of Fire (brand new)
Ellis: This is technically not a ferret competition; it’s more of a people competition. You take your ferret and put him into a chariot — a shoebox. And then the owner drags the ferret through an oval-shaped course like the chariot race in Ben-Hur. If your ferret jumps out the chariot as you’re pulling it, you put the ferret back into the chariot and proceed.
The first, second and third-place winners are declared based on fastest time. This is the first year that Chariots of Fire will take place during the Ferret Agility Trials.
Check out a video from the 2008 Ferret Agility Trails below.
