Robilyn
05-26-2008, 09:30 PM
Let me explain a little bit about these guys. I just started work at the Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Carr, Colorado a couple weeks ago, and I love it :-) It's run by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and we breed more Black-footed Ferrets here than anywhere else in the world.
These aren't domestic ferrets--rather, North America's only native ferret, and our most endangered mammal. They survive soley in prairie dog towns, relying on the prairie dog burrows for shelter and the p dogs for food. If you've seen the way we treat our prairie dogs, you know why the ferret is endangered. Every Black-footed Ferret we have today is a descendant of the last 18 animals that were removed from the wild in the 80's. Now we have over 650 in the wild thanks to cooperative breeding efforts.
We have several litters of kits now and are expecting plenty more for the season (cross your fingers!). These guys here are from a couple litters and are between 16 and 18 days old:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1301.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1305.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1304.jpg
Yes, this is me holding them as I clean a bazillion ferrets cages :-)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1302.jpg
A very fat and expectant mother:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1299.jpg
These two are exactly 3 weeks old today:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1307.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1308.jpg
These aren't domestic ferrets--rather, North America's only native ferret, and our most endangered mammal. They survive soley in prairie dog towns, relying on the prairie dog burrows for shelter and the p dogs for food. If you've seen the way we treat our prairie dogs, you know why the ferret is endangered. Every Black-footed Ferret we have today is a descendant of the last 18 animals that were removed from the wild in the 80's. Now we have over 650 in the wild thanks to cooperative breeding efforts.
We have several litters of kits now and are expecting plenty more for the season (cross your fingers!). These guys here are from a couple litters and are between 16 and 18 days old:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1301.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1305.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1304.jpg
Yes, this is me holding them as I clean a bazillion ferrets cages :-)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1302.jpg
A very fat and expectant mother:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1299.jpg
These two are exactly 3 weeks old today:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1307.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/Robilyn/Black-footed%20Ferrets/IMG_1308.jpg