Martin Grenier, a nongame mammal biologist with the state Game and Fish
Department, told Game and Fish commissioners last week that the agency plans to
release 40 more black-footed ferrets in the north and south ends of
Grenier said releasing more black-footed ferrets close to
the established population in the basin should help ensure the long-term
stability of the species and bring new blood into the population.
"This also provides some additional security
against (possible disease) outbreaks" in the basin population, he said.
The black-footed ferret was officially listed as an
endangered species in 1967. Biologists feared the species was extinct before
the discovery of a colony on a ranch near Meeteetse
in 1981.
From 1991 to 1994, 228 captive-bred black-footed
ferrets were released in the
Grenier said a department survey of the basin's black-footed
ferret population last summer counted 147 animals and a "peak" of 33
litters.
"From the results of the survey, there appears
to be a boom in the population," he told commissioners.
He attributed the booming population to an absence of
disease, such as sylvatic plague, increased numbers
of prairie dogs, which are a food source for the ferret, and a change in the
agency's survey time from the fall to August, when the animal is easier to
count.
Last fall, biologists released a total of 140
black-footed ferrets in areas both north and south of the current
Grenier said 69 animals were released on Shirley Rim to the
north and 71 near
Source: Associated Press