American Prairie is excited to announce the official opening of a new permanent exhibit at the National Discovery Center in Lewistown. The exhibit features a live, endangered black-footed ferret on loan from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado. The exhibit opening and celebration will be held Saturday, November 15, from 10 am – 4 pm, with a wide variety of activities for kids and a series of presentations by expert speakers on black-footed ferret conservation. There will also be a screening of the documentary “Ferret Town” following the presentations. Admission is free.
From 10 am to 1 pm, American Prairie’s education staff will lead fun, hands-on activities for kids at stations located throughout the National Discovery Center. Activities will include a coloring contest, face painting, a photo-op with American Prairie’s six-foot-tall ferret mascot, and a chance to vote on a name for the new live ferret. Give-aways include posters from the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center, stickers, ferret masks, and more! Special snacks in the shape of ferrets will also be available.
From 1 pm to 4 pm, expert speakers will conduct a series of presentations on the present and future status of the endangered black-footed ferret. This newest addition to American Prairie comes from the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, where the majority of black-footed ferrets are bred and prepared for reintroduction around the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. They have also been successfully reintroduced on the Fort Belknap Indian community and student representatives from Aaniiih Nakoda College, who are researching the ferrets, will be among the featured speakers.
Following the speakers, there will be a special screening of the documentary “Ferret Town” by Caldera Productions. This 30-minute film tells the story of the rediscovery of the black-footed ferrets near Meeteetse, Wyoming, their decline a few years later, and their emotional return and reintroduction to Meeteetse in 2016.
American Prairie’s new black-footed ferret exhibit features one of approximately 600 animals alive today. Of those, only a few dozen have been loaned as “education ambassadors” to twenty select conservation-focused organizations around the U.S. and Canada. American Prairie is honored to be one of the host sites for North America’s most endangered mammal.
Designed by Split Rock Studios of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in cooperation with American Prairie staff, the exhibit describes the interdependency of life in a prairie dog town and the importance of that keystone species. It also tells the dramatic story of the black-footed ferret species near demise and the relentless efforts of scientists, citizens, conservation organizations, tribal entities, and government agencies who worked to bring it back from the brink of extinction. The exhibit includes a state-of-the-art climate-controlled habitat, “peep holes” that feature 3D representations of animals that live among prairie dogs, and two live “ferret web cams.” According to Kimberly Fraser of the National Ferret Conservation Center, American Prairie has “the best black-footed ferret exhibit in North America!”
To enjoy the black-footed ferret live-streams, please visit https://americanprairie.org/national-discovery-center
From Near-Extinction to Recovery
It is a miracle that we can view a live black-footed ferret! The species once blanketed the American West, living in prairie dog towns where they preyed upon their hosts (a ferret eats one prairie dog every three days). With the settlement of the West and the purposeful eradication of prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets lost their main food source. A non-native disease that arrived around 1900, sylvatic plague, also killed what was left of the already dwindling prairie dog and ferret populations. By 1979, black-footed ferrets were believed to be extinct. Fortunately for the species, in 1981, a ranch dog belonging to John and Lucille Hogg killed a ferret on their ranch near Meeteetse, Wyoming. Biologists sent to investigate the incident quickly located the planet’s last colony of approximately 130 black-footed ferrets on the neighboring Pitchfork Ranch, as well as on the Hogg Ranch and a few others. Excited biologists from around the world swarmed Meeteetse, where they set up shop and studied the ferrets. But a few years later, sylvatic plague set in and the ferret and prairie dog populations crashed. Desperate to save the species from extinction, biologists captured the last 18 ferrets left alive and, with them, began a captive breeding program. After early struggles, the breeding program finally saw success! Now, there are approximately 30 relocation sites throughout North America and six breeding facilities. The National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center is the largest. Those involved in ferret recovery are now employing cloning as a new and promising technology used to ensure the future viability of this important prairie species. American Prairie plans to help with this recovery effort. One of its goals is to reintroduce black-footed ferrets on some of its properties. First, however, prairie dog acreage and populations must increase. Controlling sylvatic plague remains the main challenge to increasing prairie dog populations on American Prairie properties. Additional challenges include educating the public about the interconnectedness of life in the prairie dog towns and the importance of accepting and conserving prairie dog habitat.