Restoring Colorado’s not-so-plain grasslands, one ferret at a time
2,940
Published 2023-10-30
The late afternoon sun cast a golden light across the grassy plains at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. About a dozen journalists and wildlife experts gathered around a prairie dog burrow, staring intently at the small animal carrier sitting in the dirt next to the mound.
A loud chatter erupted from the carrier, and the crowd got its first glimpse of the animal inside, one that was considered extinct just 40 years earlier: the black-footed ferret.
On October 18, the refuge released 19 ferrets, bringing the landscape’s estimated ferret population to about 30.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, black-footed ferrets are North America’s most endangered mammal. Tracking this species in the wild is difficult, but estimates put the wild population at less than 500.
Read more: www.rmpbs.org/blogs/news/black-footed-ferret-color…
------------------------------------------------------
Follow Rocky Mountain PBS on our other platforms, too.
• Newsletter: www.rmpbs.org/newsletter/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rmpbs
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rmpbs
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/rocky-mountain-pbs
All Comments (5)
-
Thank you for the work you do!
-
Ahhhh, nice marmot!
-
Biodiversity is our only hope for the long term
-
💗 Love that the funds are from the Inflation Reduction Act! Go Dems! 👍
