Prairie Wildlife Research
PO Box 308
Wellington, CO 80549
970.219.1659
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8 July 2008
Friends and colleagues-
The battle against plague in Conata Basin continues. It appears that as much as
9,000 acres of the 31,000 acres of prairie dogs may be affected. We won’t know
until late fall how much the black-footed ferret population has been impacted.
By that time I will have completed my counts of BFFs and we will have a more
accurate assessment of the damage done by plague.
I continue to lead a small crew in capturing BFFs for vaccination by the
National Wildlife Health Center. If we don’t capture these BFFs they will not be
vaccinated. To date we have captured and vaccinated 43 adult BFFs. We will
capture and vaccinate the kits but right now they are not big enough to capture
and many remain below ground. By mid-August we will be capturing kits. Other
crews continue to dust prairie dog burrows to kill fleas which can spread
plague. It is a laborious task that will persist throughout the summer.
The support we have received thus far from the public as well as organizations
and agencies has been overwhelming and encouraging. More than $7,000 in
donations/BFF adoptions have poured in during the last month. Along with support
from World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, International Ferret Congress,
Toronto Zoo, American Association of Zookeepers Louisville Zoo, SeaWorld & Busch
Gardens Conservation Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, and US Forest
Service we have raised more than $37,000 to protect black-footed ferrets in
Conata Basin! We thank you all!
I will continue to send updates and you can also visit my
blog to read about the daily battle against plague.
Again, my sincere thanks…
Travis
Learn more about plague
here.