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| credit: NY Times |
Black footed ferrets
(Mustela nigripes), so adorable that people have ferrets as pets, are coming back to the wild thanks to conservation efforts. There were so few remaining in the early eighties that the species was thought extinct. But a captive breeding program began when a population of twenty four was discovered alive in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. Eighteen survivors of the original twenty-four animals became the foundation for the estimated 1,000 now living in the wild. This year is the thirtieth anniversary of the first release of ferrets back to their native prairie habitat. Wild populations are growing, but the animal is still an endangered species. Wyoming's Shirley Basin population especially represents a remarkable success story. Two hundred twenty-eight ferrets released there from 1991 to 1994 dwindled to only five individuals in 1997, suffering from a combination of adversities including canine distemper, lack of its favorite prey the prairie dog, and low fertility rates. Ferrets tend to produce their offspring late in life. The ferrets were able to overcome these problems, their population growing by 35% annually from 2003 to 2006 to their starting number. The
National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado prepares captive bred ferrets for transition to the wild through conditioning which increases their chances for survival in selected release sites on the western Great Plains. The tenacity of life is always amazing. Man need only help a little to be rewarded with recovery.
