From: joe.lewandowski@state.co.us Sent: Thursday,
September 15, 2005 4:41 PM To: dgarell@cmzoo.org Subject:
Ferrets faring well in northwest Colorado
Contact Name: Joe Lewandowski Contact Phone:
(970)375-6708
FERRETS FARING WELL IN
NORTHWEST COLORADO
The black-footed ferret
appears to be establishing a home once again in Colorado.
Based
on a weeklong counting operation in late August, biologists are confident that
ferrets are thriving and breeding in the wild in northwest Colorado. Pam
Schnurr, a wildlife conservation biologist with the Colorado Division of
Wildlife (DOW), said that ferrets were spotted in the 20,000-acre Wolf Creek
Management Area located about 20 miles northeast of Rangely.
A
total of five sightings were confirmed. At least another five animals were
spotted, but those sightings could not be verified. One female that was captured
had been lactating, giving evidence that she gave birth earlier in the summer.
Schnurr said that while those numbers might seem low they are
representative of a significant black-footed ferret population. The animals
spend most of their lives underground and rarely come to the surface.
Consequently, they are difficult to spot.
"Ferrets are nocturnal,
so counting operations are conducted at night. Making them even more difficult
to find," said Schnurr
Also, less than half of the management area
was searched.
"Seeing so many is very encouraging," Schnurr said.
"And the fact that we saw so many means that there are a lot more out
there."
The black-footed ferret is considered to be the rarest
mammal in North America and is listed as an endangered species by the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The ferret is a predator and its diet
is comprised almost exclusively of prairie dogs.
The ferrets were
thought to be extinct until a population of 129 was found in Meeteetse, Wyo., in
1981. After a breakout of plague and canine distemper reduced the population to
just 18, a captive breeding program was started by the Fish and Wildlife
Service. Since then, about 3,000 ferrets have been bred in captivity.
Ferrets were released back into the wild in Wyoming in 1991, in
South Dakota and Montana in 1994, and in Arizona in 1998.
The
Colorado reintroduction started in 2001. Since then a total of 170 ferrets have
been released in the state; 20 more will be released in October.
Ferrets live an average of three years and females produce litters
of two or three. The number of ferrets alive in Colorado is not known.
Biologists estimate that a total of about 400 are alive in the wild in all the
states where releases have occurred.
The
reintroduction program in Colorado is a joint project of the DOW, the USFWS and
the United States Bureau of Land Management.
# #
#
Editors: A photo of a black-footed ferret can be downloaded
from this website address. Please, credit the Colorado Division of
Wildlife. http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/1895.jpg