Officials release ferrets at new Arizona nursery site
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and volunteers released endangered black-footed ferrets into a new nursery site in northern Arizona.
Volunteers placed carriers near reflective markers to guide the animals toward specific prairie dog burrows for their first wild attempt. The ferrets cautiously entered the tunnels after spotting the shiny signals that indicated safe underground homes.
State and federal partners collaborate closely to ensure the recovery of this iconic species in the wild. Tribes and non-governmental organizations also join this larger team to help the animals survive in the wild environment.
This spring the team released nineteen ferrets while trail cameras monitored their activities to understand their daily behaviors and hunting patterns. Biologists reviewed footage showing the animals evading predators and playing with each other in their new environment.
Black-footed ferrets once lived across the Great Plains but their numbers dropped as farmland replaced grasslands and prairie dogs vanished. The species was thought extinct by the 1970s until rediscovery in 1981 led to a slow recovery of about three hundred individuals today.