Press Release:
Over 100 Black-footed Ferret Kits Born In Arizona This Spring
June 30, 1999
Media contact: Frosty Taylor, BFFRIT Outreach/Education wyoweasel@hotmail.com
The second year for the Arizona Game and Fish Department's (AGFD) on-site black-footed ferret program has proven to be quite successful.
Sixteen of 17 females gave birth to 63 kits in June at the reintroduction site near Seligman, said Bill Van Pelt, AGFD nongame mammals program manager. In combination with The Phoenix Zoo breeding program, over 100 ferret kits were born in Arizona this spring.
"By having experienced project technicians, our on-site breeding program was able to increase their whelping success from 63% to 93% in just one year. We are extremely pleased with the results," said AGFD Director Duane Shroufe.
The majority of the 1999 born kits will be released into the Aubrey Valley Reintroduction Area in September. Up to 30 of the ferrets will be retained for breeding next year, said Van Pelt. In addition to the wild born kits, Arizona will receive 20 additional kits from the national captive breeding program later this year.
Angie McIntire, AGFD black-footed ferret field team leader, said "We are really excited about all the 1999 kits. The kits are doing really well.
The adult females have been released from their nest boxes and have taken their kits into their underground burrows where the temperatures are much better for them," McIntire said.
The field team took a hands-off position for at least five days after the births, in an effort not to stress the female and give her time to care for her young. Kits are born helpless, are one-and-one-half to two inches long, and need the constant care of the mother. Females curl around their young to thermal-regulate and nurse them.
Arizona, the fourth state in the nation to reintroduce black-footed ferrets, is the first reintroduction site to place black-footed ferrets in acclimation pens before releasing them into the wild. Placing them in acclimation pens helps the animals adjust as they transfer from life in captive breeding sites to reintroduction sites. By placing the ferrets in the pens within the prairie dog colonies near Seligman, a better chance of survival is expected, Van Pelt said. Prairie dogs are their natural prey.
Reintroduction efforts for black-footed ferrets in Arizona were initiated at the Aubrey Valley in late March 1996 after an absence of over 65 years. Forty ferrets were released into the wilds that fall.
Of the 26 kits born to this endangered species in the AGFD acclimation pens last June, nine were released into the wild last fall. Some were held for breeding purposes.
Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in the world.
Ferrets have also been reintroduced in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. Reintroduction projects are planned in Colorado and Utah as well.
The primary funding for the ferret project is the AGFD Heritage Program that is supported from the Arizona Lottery (you win even if you don't play).
The Arizona reintroduction program is a cooperative effort between the AGFD, the Navajo and Hulapai Nations, The Phoenix Zoo, Arizona State Land Department, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Volunteers are needed for spotlighting surveys running July through September. Anyone interested in volunteering for a spotlighting survey can contact Richard Winstead, Kingman regional office nongame specialist, at (520) 692-7700.
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