At The National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center there have been 21 BFF kits born to date, including the first four kits born on Earth Day, April 22nd! The largest litter belongs to Mom Dahlia with 7 kits. Now that's a mother's "business" (business=a group of ferrets). Dahlia is a fabulous mom and all her kits are doing great! Here are two kits born to Mom Bronze. They are plump and healthy!
The Black-Footed Ferret, once thought to be extinct in the wild, was rediscovered in 1981 with a small population of 24 animals in Wyoming―30 years later the species’ future is brighter than ever.
As a holiday gift to ourselves, ZooBorns recently commissioned a stunning piece of performance art from the Painting Ferrets. We selected the "super polka" soundtrack for better and worse. Enjoy!
And remember, if you're looking for a holiday gift for yourself or an animal lover in your life, check out ZooBorns: Cats!, our original ZooBorns or our kids book ZooBorns!. Wow... that gets kind of confusing... They are all right here.
The Black-Footed Ferret, once thought to be extinct in the wild, was rediscovered in 1981 with a small population of 24 animals in Wyoming―30 years later the species’ future is brighter than ever. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is marking this anniversary with a record-breaking year―50 surviving Black-Footed Ferret kits were born at the Zoo’s Front Royal facility this year, helping to bolster the population of North America’s sole ferret species. Today more than 1,000 ferrets exist in the wild as the result of a successful reintroduction program at six breeding institutions, including SCBI. (For extensive information about SCBI’s success breeding the Black-footed Ferret, visit the Zoo’s Black-Footed Ferret press kit.)
Above, Dr. JoGayle Howard holds ferrets resulting from artificial breeding in 1988. Below, Howard with pups born in 1997.
Photo credits: Julie Larsen-Maher and Jessie Cohen (last 2) / Smithsonian's National Zoo
Once believed to be extinct, Black-footed Ferrets have had a banner year for breeding at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s conservation facility in Front Royal, Va. Twelve litters of black-footed ferrets have been born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute since May 7, including litters born to four females who have never before had kits.
Photo credits: Smithsonian National Zoo
In total, 50 kits were born this year, and 49 have survived. The sizes of the litters this year also were larger than previous years. Five of the litters born this year included six kits—unusual for a species that usually has three or four kits at a time. The most recent litter was born July 23.
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