Black-footed Ferret Recovery Strategies & Timeline

1851: The black-footed ferret is reported and described by John James Audubon and the Reverend John Bachmann. No one will report seeing a ferret again for another 26 years.

1924:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Oklahoma.

1931:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Arizona.

1934:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Texas.

1937:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Canada (Saskatchewan).

1937:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Utah.

1949:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Nebraska.

1952:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Colorado. Skull found later.

1953:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Montana.  Skulls found later.

1954:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from New Mexico.

1954:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from North Dakota.  Skull found later.

1957:  Last black-footed ferret carcass recovered from Kansas.  Skull found later.

Historical photo of a black-footed ferret

1950’s:  Recovered black-footed ferret specimens becoming very rare. Only three of twelve states report recovered carcasses after the 1950’s.  

1964: A female ferret and kits are found in Mellette County in western South Dakota. They are considered perhaps the last black-footed ferrets in the world.


The first endangered species list was created for the United States and black-footed ferrets were placed on the list.

Historic photo of one day’s kill in Arizona

Black-footed ferret workshop (Symposium) held with States and Canadian Provinces reporting on the status of prairie dogs and ferrets in their respective jurisdictions sponsored by South Dakota State University. 

1978:  A Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan is approved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

1979: The last Patuxent ferret dies. The black-footed ferret is believed to be extinct.

Shep is the black dog in the center of the photograph

1981-1986: The only pre-recovery systematic studies on black-footed ferrets in the field were conducted. This data was critical for developing captive breeding protocol (e.g., when ferrets breed, gestation length, time of kit dispersal) and husbandry (e.g., importance of tunnels and nest boxes) as well as habitat assessments for reintroduction sites.

1984: The Meeteetse population is 129 black-footed ferrets.

1985: Outbreaks of canine distemper (and not suspected at the time, but probable sylvatic plague) nearly wipe out the Meeteetse ferrets.

August 27th -- The US Fish & Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department decide to remove all known black-footed ferrets from their habitat in an effort to save the species. From October 1985-September 1986, 17 ferrets are taken into captivity.

A revised "Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan" is approved by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

1989: 72 ferret kits are born at Sybille and six at Front Royal. The total ferret population is 120.


1990: The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado joins the captive breeding program.

1991: Shirley Basin, in central Wyoming becomes the first black-footed ferret reintroduction site with the release of 49 juvenile ferrets.

A Species Survival Plan (SSP) is developed in cooperation with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association to manage the genetic and demographic needs of the captive ferret population.

The Louisville Zoological Garden in Louisville, Kentucky and the Phoenix Zoo in Phoenix, AZ join the captive breeding program.

1992: Two litters of wild-born kits are reported in Shirley Basin--the first known kits born in the wild since the Meeteetse population was lost.

The Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Canada joins the captive breeding program.

1993: Four wild-born litters are discovered in Shirley Basin.

Symposium on the Management of Prairie Dog Complexes for the Reintroduction of the Black-footed Ferret sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

1994: The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana, and Badlands National Park, South Dakota receive ferrets for reintroduction.

An outbreak of plague spreads throughout the Shirley Basin release site and further reintroductions are postponed. A total of 228 ferrets were released in Shirley Basin from 1991-1994.

Facility at Sybille Canyon, WY

Ferrets are found to be highly susceptible to direct contact with plague.

1996: The US Fish & Wildlife Service establishes a Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (BFFRIT) to help guide recovery efforts. The BFFRIT includes representatives from federal and state governments, Native American tribes, zoos, and conservation organizations.

The South Dakota ferret reintroduction effort expands onto the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands at a location called Conata Basin.

Arizona joins the reintroduction program by testing the use of on-site "preconditioning" pens for the first time at a release site in the Aubrey Valley in northwestern Arizona.

1997: Twenty-four on-site preconditioning pens are constructed by the US Forest Service on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. 1997 is the first year that all ferrets destined for reintroduction are preconditioned before release.

A new reintroduction effort begins on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana.

1998: The captive breeding program experiences its best year ever with a record 452 ferrets born and 339 surviving to weaning. Eighteen of the weaned young are produced in on-site pens in Arizona--an important milestone.

The number of ferrets available for reintroduction exceeds all previous years with approximately 210 kits released to the wild in Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota.

The pen breeding program expands with the addition of pen facilities built by the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Twenty pens are completed at a pending reintroduction site in northwest Colorado, and twenty pens are constructed at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge in Montana to support on-going release efforts in Montana.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service plans for construction of a new breeding facility near Fort Collins, Colorado to replace the current Wyoming facility.

Perhaps the most important milestone in 1998 is the fact that for the first time since the black-footed ferret recovery program began, there were more ferrets in the wild than in captivity.

1999: Black-footed ferrets reintroduced to Coyote Basin, Utah.

A study at Heck Table, South Dakota was initiated to ascertain survival differences between wildborn and preconditioned captive reared ferret kits. The kits were placed in high density black-tailed prairie dog colonies of approximately 1,400 acres. The study showed good survival of both groups of ferret kits with the translocated kits from Conata Basin having better survival. Since the initial reintroduction of 36 ferret kits, the Heck Table site has been self sustaining, without supplementation for the next decade on the relatively small prairie dog complex.       

2000: Black-footed ferrets reintroduced to Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota using translocated wild born ferrets from Conata Basin, SD and preconditioned captive reared ferrets.

Translocation of wild born ferrets from Conata Basin to other reintroduction sites becomes an annual mainstay of reintroduction activities.  

2001: Three new reintroduction sites join the program: BLM 40-Complex, Montana; Wolf Creek, CO; Janos, Mexico

Ground-breaking for the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado occurs.  Site will eventually become a captive breeding and preconditioning facility to replace the Sybille Canyon location.

2003:  Black-footed Ferret Population Management Planning Workshop held by the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group.

2004: Black-footed ferrets reintroduced on the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota using a small allocation of wild born kits translocated from Conata Basin to prairie dog colonies on the Reservation in January of 2004. Of six females translocated in January, at least three produce litters by fall of 2004. Additional ferrets are released in the fall of 2004 and subsequent years. 

Symposium on the Status of the Black-footed Ferret and its Habitat, Ft. Collins, Colorado sponsored by the United States Geological Survey and other invested organizations. Proceedings of the symposium provide important information for undertaking new ferret reintroduction sites.  

USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center, Northeastern, CO.

2005: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Northeastern Colorado is completed.

In November animals are transferred from Sybille Canyon to Colorado.

2006:  Black-footed ferrets are translocated from the Cheyenne River Reservation reintroduction site to Lower Brule Reservation reintroduction site.   

2006: Additional black-footed ferrets from the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center reintroduced on Lower Brule Reservation, South Dakota.

Celebration of the 25th anniversary of BFF re-discovery.

2007: Three new re-introduction sites: Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota; Espee Ranch, AZ; Logan County, Kansas. At Wind Cave and Logan County, ferret litters are documented the first breeding season after release.

Black-footed ferrets are translocated from Aubrey Valley, AZ to the Espee Ranch, AZ site. 

Georgia and Peanut at the National Zoo, Washington, D.C.

2008: Black-footed ferrets reintroduced on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, MT and at Vermejo Park Ranch, NM by the Turner Endangered Species Foundation

First kits born to males that had been deceased nine years using thawed cryopreserved sperm to artificially inseminate two females.

To date, more than 6,500 ferrets have been produced in captivity. Of these approximately 2,300 have been reintroduced to the wild while the rest are kept in the captive breeding population.

Plague outbreak in Conata Basin causes a reduction of approximately 10,700 acres of prairie dogs. 30 black-footed ferrets are quarantined and translocated from Conata Basin to other reintroduction sites that have a previous history of plague.

Ferret being vaccinated

Seven active black-footed ferret reintroduction sites choose to undertake management actions (dusting) to reduce flea loads believed to be a key vector in the spread of plague.

Symposium on the Ecology of Plague and Its Effects on Wildlife in Ft. Collins, Colorado sponsored by the United States Geological Survey.