Endangered black-footed ferrets released into Colorado as part of recovery program

Colorado Parks and Wildlife released endangered black-footed ferrets into the wild. The release happened last week at May Ranch with some help from students from Lamar Middle School. 

Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America. According to CPW Terrestrial Biologist Jonathan Reitz, the plow, poison, and plague were all factors in the black-footed ferret nearly becoming extinct.

The animals are predators that primarily feed on prairie dogs. According to CPW, prairie dogs are close to the size of black-footed ferrets and they also face predation from coyotes, foxes and owls. 

During the release of 15 kits on Nov. 15, one of the black-footed ferrets decided to investigate the students before heading out to explore the wild. 

Additional Information from Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

Colorado is one of eight states and over 50 partner agencies involved with the recovery of the species through reintroduction. 

Ferrets were first reintroduced to Colorado in 2001 at Wolf Creek, north of Rangely. After dozens were released over several years, that site succumbed to a plague outbreak and collapsed by 2010.

An Eastern Plains reintroduction strategy began in 2013 with the release of 300 ferrets to six Colorado sites over a period of years. Black-footed ferret recovery efforts began on the May Ranch in 2021 when CPW and May began the process of mapping the 20,000-acre ranch to see if it had enough acres of prairie dogs to qualify for the program. Now, three years later, there has been evidence of successful reproduction on the property.