At the Zoos

One of the key components to black-footed ferret recovery is captive breeding. There are six places in North America that breed black-footed ferrets for reintroduction into the wild: the Toronto Zoo in Ontario, Canada; the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona; Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado; Louisville Zoo in Kentucky; Smithsonian National Zoo in Virginia; and the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center (NBFFCC) in Colorado. Additionally, several zoos have black-footed ferrets on display without a breeding program. Call your local zoo and ask if they have a black-footed ferret or prairie dog on display. The NBFFCC, which houses 60% of the captive black-footed ferret population, is a quarantined facility that is closed to the public.

Breeding black-footed ferrets in captivity is no small task. It takes great attention to detail and is a highly involved process. Black-footed ferrets breed once a year, usually in the spring months, but before captive breeding can begin scientists, biologists and zookeepers must carefully decide which ferrets are suitable genetic matches.