CONSERVATION – A COLLECTIVE EFFORT
Did you know?
Twenty-five cents from every Louisville Zoo general admission ticket and one dollar from
every membership now goes to conservation. Collectively, these quarters and dollars
can make a huge impact! Last year, we collected over $77,000 toward conservation
efforts through your support of the Louisville Zoo. Just by visiting the Zoo or becoming
a member, you play an important part in helping vital conservation efforts around the
world. Below, learn more about our flagship conservation program that you help support
— the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program.
A Momentous Year
Did you know the Louisville Zoo
houses one of the most endangered
species in North America? You may
not see them on exhibit, but blackfooted ferrets are at the Zoo and
thriving in our flagship conservation
program. This year we celebrated
our 26th anniversary of the BlackFooted Ferret Conservation Center
and our part in the Black-Footed
Ferret Recovery Program.
Black-footed ferrets were declared extinct in 1979. Their population was decimated partially due
to sylvatic plague, a disease that
spreads rapidly via fleas through
prairie dog colonies, which are the
ferrets’ primary food source. The
ferrets become infected by fleas or
by eating the infected prairie dogs.
Sylvatic plague is 100 percent fatal
in black-footed ferrets.
In 1981, a remnant population
of 18 ferrets was discovered near
Meeteetse, Wyoming thanks to a
ranch dog named Shep. The ferrets
were able to bounce back from the
brink of extinction through the efforts of a multi-institutional recovery
program that has bred hundreds of
ferrets for release. Current breeding
sites include U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s
Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, the Louisville Zoo, Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo, National
Zoo’s Science and Conservation Breeding Institute,
Phoenix Zoo, and Toronto
Zoo.
This is a very important
year for the program. In
late July, wildlife officials
released 35 black-footed
ferrets on two ranches
near Meeteetse, bringing
the descendants of the
founding 18 ferrets back
to Meeteetse for the first
time.
Protecting the site
against sylvatic plague was imperative to ensure the released Meeteetse ferrets would thrive. All ferrets
receive a plague vaccine prior to
being released into the wild. In
addition, during the weeks leading
up to the release, biologists made
sure the ferrets would have plenty
of prairie dogs to eat by treating
the local prairie dog population
with insecticide and plague vaccine. Plague control will continue to
be necessary as more black-footed
ferret releases are planned next year
and the year after.
The Louisville Zoo participates in
ferret releases. This year’s group of
ferrets born at the Louisville Zoo will
be released later this fall at a location yet to be determined.
The Louisville Zoo has provided
over 700 ferrets for reintroduction
since 1991. Your Zoo’s Conservation Center has assisted greatly in
the national program’s momentum.
Not only have we played a role in
developing the protocols that all
institutions use, but we have also
been the most consistent producer
of kits (babies) each year.
You can follow this year‘s 26 kits
on their adventures as they grow
up and get ready for release. Learn
what they’re up to and get the latest on the planned release by visiting louisvillezoo.org/BFFblog.
Inside Your Zoo
Your Zoo is proud to support the release of black-footed ferrets back into Meeteetse,
Wyoming. $5,000 was contributed by your Zoo’s conservation fund to assist in sylvatic
plague management at the site to prepare the area for the safe reintroduction of this
important species.
Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Fall 2016 • 7