On Monday 26th December 2022, local resident Magda took her pet ferret ‘Simon’ for a Boxing Day walk on Gedling Country Park. This is a regular thing, as Simon is very tame and friendly. Unfortunately he was lost in the park. He disappeared into the undergrowth and did not return despite calls to him.
Magda and her friends desperately tried to find him but he had vanished. As night fell the search had to be abandoned.
The following day (Tuesday 27th) Magda continued to search the area with friends. Posters were put up and her friend Kris helped by posting on the social media pages and groups.
I lost my ferret when I was walking in the park yesterday. It happened around 15:00. Unfortunately it hasn’t been found as of yet. Simon is a house pet. He is a very friendly ferret (He doesn’t bite). If he comes to someone, I will be grateful if he is taken and secured.
If you live near the park, please check if Simon has not hidden in a tool shedl, garage or under the car. I will be grateful for your help.
If you see my baby please call me – +44 7******** Thank you❤
By Wednesday 28th, Simon had been missing for 48 hours, but his owners still hoped for news.
Meanwhile, the post on Mapperley People alone had been viewed over 100k times and shared over 1k.
It seemed that everyone wanted to help.
I’m sure his owner is already using this, but if anyone’s helping them, take squeaky toys as ferrets will run towards them to find out what they are ❤️ really hope Simon’s found soon.
Helen
Has he been found yet?? My son is really worried about him
Laura
I hope you find Simon ❤️ he’s so cute 🥺
Layla
The owners had openly posted a phone number, hoping for information.
Hoping for a Breakthrough
A call was received during the afternoon of Wednesday.
Someone claimed to know that they had found Simon, but he was dead. The caller promised to message with the location of where Simon could be found, but the message never came.
Was this a sick hoax?
Then another call came from the occupants of a farm on Spring Lane. The farm buildings were close to the entrance to the Country Park, but on the opposite side of the road.
They had heard about Simon and checked their CCTV. One camera covered the garden where there were bird feeders and water left out for animals.
Whilst checking the footage for the Monday evening (the day that Simon had started his adventure) they saw one of their regular visitors, a badger. The badger was looking for food at 9.20 pm. As they watched the badger closely and by concentrating on the footage there was a smaller animal following the badger around. It wasn’t easy to identify it. Could it be Simon?
Even the owner couldn’t be certain. Maybe.
The same animal was seen again the following night (Tuesday).
No one could be certain it was Simon. The only way to find out would be to see the animal in daylight, and to catch it if possible.
That opportunity came on Friday.
A Break-Through
It was Simon. He had been using an abandoned rabbit hole for his shelter. When he emerged in the daytime on Friday, a vigilant person saw him and as we had been told, he was happy to be fussed and picked up.
Magda got the phone call she wanted. They were reunited within minutes.
Magda sent us this message:
Hi. Could you please update the post to say Simon has been found and happily reunited with us today. He ventured off onto one of the farms on the other side of Spring Lane, and was captured on CCTV (see link here) on at least two occasions. I would like to thank all the lovely people who expressed interest and provided support. Thank you.
Magda
Here are some photos of Simon back at home and enjoying the attention.
