Black-footed ferrets came to the brink of extinction in the early 1980s when only seven animals remained. The main cause of their decline was human extermination of prairie dogs, the ferrets' favorite food source.
To restore the native ferret population to North America's Great Plains, five zoos, including Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, are participating in an aggressive captive breeding and reintroduction program that is making progress toward recovering the native ferret population.
We received word that our neighbors in Canada had a lot to celebrate this month with their first wild-born black-footed ferrets. Read the article below and see a few pictures they captured of the ferrets.
Government of Canada celebrates first wild-born black-footed ferrets in Grasslands National Park
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
August 4, 2010 – The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced the first wild-born black-footed ferrets in over 70 years in Canada have been observed in Grasslands National Park. Once considered North America’s rarest mammal, the black-footed ferret was reintroduced to Canada in Parks Canada’s Grasslands National Park in October 2009.
“The observation of wild-born ferrets is a tremendous cause for celebration and a significant benchmark in the reintroduction effort of this species,” said Minister Prentice. “The Government of Canada is committed to the species at risk recovery process and the success of the black-footed ferret on the Canadian prairies.”
The first two images were taken from B-roll footage of the juvenile kits. The third photo is an image of a black-footed ferret that was released in Grasslands
National Park in October 2009.
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