Lots to cover about the ferret project, will probably take more than one post.  I'll start at the end and lead with some photos.  The black footed ferret project in Wyoming is lead by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and most of it is funded through State Wildlife Grants, with some funds coming from the Section 6 funds of the Endangered Species program through the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  https://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/subpages/grantprograms/swg/swg.htm for info on the SWG program.  We were at the Pitchfork Ranch, in Meeteetse, WY, private land that is a working ranch but where the landowners are dedicated to the ferret restoration as well.

Just a typical view at Pitchfork Ranch.

The surveys run from dusk till dawn and teams drive and walk routes through the ferret habitat (prairie dog towns) using spotlights to search for the distinctive eyeshine of the ferrets when they pop above ground.  These photos are from start time, around 7:30PM.

Takes a big crew to accomplish the surveys, and we only surveyed half the ferret survey on the ranch that night.

Beautiful start to the night.

Time to find some ferrets.

Once a ferret is located, the survey crew locates the prairie dog burrow it went into and sets a long, narrow cage trap in the burrow entrance.  They then plug all the other connected burrows so the ferret can only go out the entrance with the trap.  They go back and check the traps every 30-60 minutes and the ferrets aren't too shy about getting caught.  Sorry, I don't have photos of that process, it happens in the dark.

After a ferret is caught, it is brought back to a small trailer, set up to process the animals.  I got to spend the night with the project leader, Dana Nelson, and survey with her the area around the trailer and then watch as she handled the ferrets that came in.  It was a long night, as ferret above ground activity peaks between 1-4 AM.  We ended up with 3 ferrets to handle, 1 around midnight, the other 2 between 430-530am.

Inside the ferret processing trailer, it is about a 5 X 8 foot space.

The ferrets come in from the field in the black plastic tube, with a plug at each end.  The tube fits on a specially made anesthesia chamber.  Isoflourane, an inhaled anesthetic, is used to safely handle the ferrets.  They are moved out of the tube into the chamber.

Once in the chamber, the gas is turned on and the ferret is immobilized,usually takes 1.5-2 minutes.

Ferrets are removed from the chamber and a cone is used to complete anesthesia and facilitate handling.  The ferrets weight around 1 kg, which is smaller than their prey, the prairie dog.  They typically kill 1 prairie dog every 3 days, and get most of their water needs from the animals they kill, not by going to water sources.

Once safe to handle, ferrets are checked to see if they have an identity chip, like used on cats and dogs, with a handheld scanner. If not, each one has a chip injected just under the skin between the shoulders.  They are also vaccinated for canine distemper and sylvatic plague.  Plague is endemic in prairie dog towns and carried by fleas and a significant problem for black footed ferrets.  The vaccines are important to ensure survival of this endangered species.

Other measurements are taken while the ferret is immobilized and then they are placed in a pet carrier to recover and then for transport back to where they were captured  to be released.  The whole process in the trailer takes less than 10 minutes.  The isoflurane is quickly metabolized and quite safe to use.

 Of the 3 ferrets captured that night, at least one was a kit produced this year, documenting reproduction in this reintroduced population.  One other was one of the original animals released here in 2016.  Black footed ferrets typically live only about 3 years and that old male was showing signs of age with broken teeth.

Although the ferret is still listed as federally endangered, most of the conservation efforts in Wyoming are funded and carried out by the Wyoming Game and Fish department.  I was very impressed by the staff involved in this project and the way they worked with the landowners and other partners to carry out these surveys and the overall restoration project.  It was really special to be on the site where the species was first rediscovered in 1981 after having been considered extinct.

Because of the threat of disease, the original population of wild ferrets at Meeteetse were captured and brought into captivity to begin a captive breeding program.  Even then, it was only a known population of 18 individuals!  Of those, only 7 ferrets contributed to the original captive breeding effort.  Those 7 are the founder population of all the ferrets known today.  They have since been released in many locations throughout their historic range.  More of the story is here.

For me, this was quite an experience as the ferret was a really big topic in wildlife conservation circles when I was an undergrad in the 1980s (and still is, obviously).  The disease threat is real, and locations where they might be released are have to have adequate numbers of prairie dogs.  White-tailed prairie dogs typically occur at lower densities than black-tailed prairie dogs, so the area requirements for WT dogs are twice that of BT dogs (3000 acres vs 1500 acres).  Also, because of the plague threat, each prairie dog burrow is treated with insecticide before ferret releases and for several years thereafter!  Imagine the effort involved in walking through thousands of acres of prairie dog towns, dusting each burrow with the insecticide.

White-tailed prairie dog.  

Overall, this is quite an amazing, collaborative conservation success story.  More to come on some of the other things going on relative to ferrets, as well as other things I've done on my trip in the past 10 days.