Prairie Wildlife Research
PO Box 308
Wellington, CO 80549
970.219.1659
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Join National Geographic Explorer host Boyd Matson on a journey into the night to shed light on the promising fate of one of America's most endangered species.
11 November 2008
Friends and colleagues-
The field season has slowed down now and allowed me time to rest and assess the
progress we’ve made in the battle against plague. This deadly bacterial disease
was confirmed in Conata Basin, South Dakota in mid-May of 2008 and is fatal to
both prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. A multi-agency and organizational
response was mounted which included the dusting of prairie dog burrows with an
insecticide to kill fleas, a primary vector of plague, along with an effort to
vaccinate black-footed ferrets against the disease. Prairie Wildlife Research
led the capture effort for vaccination in the field, working closely with the
National Wildlife Health Center and US Fish & Wildlife Service, using a vaccine
developed by the US Army. The grueling task of dusting 11,000 acres of prairie
dog burrows was completed in early October. As of this writing, 216
black-footed ferrets have been vaccinated against plague and we will continue
our efforts through the winter as time, funding and the weather allows. Public
support for this effort has been amazing and we cannot thank you enough. In the
upcoming weeks I will post more stories on my
blog
to give you an idea of what goes on in the field to save an endangered species.
Respectfully yours,
Travis Livieri
Learn more about plague
here.