In the Field:

Restoring black-footed ferrets to the prairie can be a daunting task. There is no textbook or instruction manual on how to recover an endangered species, so in the case of black-footed ferrets we must learn as we restore populations. Prairie Wildlife Research is intimately involved with field conservation of black-footed ferrets throughout their range. We provide services and fulfill roles that are crucial to establishing wild populations.

Reintroduction
Black-footed ferrets were extinct in the wild by the late 1980’s and only 18 individuals remained at a captive breeding center. Successful reproduction in captivity produced enough young black-footed ferrets, called “kits,” for reintroduction back into the wild. Since 1991 more than 3,000 black-footed ferrets have been released into prairie dog colonies across North America. Releases have occurred on federal, state, tribal and private lands and included many partners. Prairie Wildlife Research is a key partner at several sites, using our knowledge and years of experience to give released black-footed ferrets the best chance to survive.

Monitoring
Black-footed ferrets are listed as endangered across North America and the goal of recovery is to remove them from the list. Currently the black-footed ferret recovery plan calls for 1,500 breeding adults in the wild to be down-listed to threatened status and 3,000 adults in the wild to be de-listed completely. Monitoring of wild populations is essential to know how close we are to reaching those goals. Currently there are an estimated 500 adult black-footed ferrets in the wild thus we are one-third of the way to our first goal. Prairie Wildlife Research leads and organizes the annual monitoring surveys for black-footed ferrets in Conata Basin, South Dakota, one of the largest and most important recovery sites to date. We also provide assistance to other recovery sites in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona and Mexico.

Our primary method to monitor black-footed ferret population is spotlighting. Have you ever seen a deer in your vehicle headlights at night? We use high-powered spotlights to search for the emerald green eyeshine of black-footed ferrets as they peek above ground at night. You will only find ferrets in prairie dog colonies because that is almost their entire diet. Once a ferret is found we will set a live trap and try to capture the animal and anesthetize it for a veterinary check-up. This includes implanting a microchip, drawing blood and giving the ferret vaccinations to protect them against deadly diseases. This procedure takes as little as 20 minutes and the ferret is then released at the prairie dog burrow it was captured in. In 2008 we monitored and protected more than 200 black-footed ferrets in Conata Basin alone!

In addition to spotlighting we have also used radio-telemetry, placing a small collar with a transmitter on the animal and tracking it with antennas. This method is labor-intensive but produces the best data on survival, movements and sources of mortality. When the snow conditions are perfect we also can track ferrets by the paw prints they leave in the snow. Whatever method is needed, Prairie Wildlife Research is there to find the ferrets, help and train others to find them, and produce quality scientific data to recover the species.

Translocation                                                          
One of the goals for black-footed ferret recovery is to establish viable, self-sustaining populations and then move wild animals to new sites. We have data demonstrating wild-born black-footed ferrets survive better than ferrets from captivity and every year several sites request wild-born ferrets from Conata Basin, South Dakota. Prairie Wildlife Research works closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other reintroduction partners to translocate wild-born ferrets from Conata Basin to new sites. In the past 8 years we have provided ferrets to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and other sites in South Dakota.

Research Projects
A partial list of our past and current research projects can be found here.