PHOENIX — For the first time in nearly three decades, Arizona wildlife officials have reintroduced 10 endangered black-footed ferrets to the Aubrey Valley/Double O Ranch area, the state’s sole active recovery site.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has been working for years to prepare the habitat, located between Flagstaff and Kingman, for the species’ return. The ferret kits were bred at six locations across the U.S., including the Phoenix Zoo, and transported to the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado for wilderness training before their release.
“Re-establishing this population required understanding why the ferrets were dying off,” said Holly Hicks, AZGFD’s senior small mammal management specialist. “It became clear the issue was linked to their prey, Gunnison’s prairie dogs, and the fleas that transmit plague between them.”
Efforts to combat the “Sylvatic plague,” a bacterial disease affecting both the ferrets and their primary prey, began in 2020. Biologists now treat prairie dogs with flea medications containing the same active ingredients used for domestic pets.
Each ferret released was vaccinated against the plague and fitted with a microchip for monitoring. By late October, officials confirmed that four of the reintroduced ferrets were “doing well.”
The black-footed ferret population once peaked at 123 in 2012 but has since declined significantly. With continued efforts, AZGFD plans additional ferret releases over the next three years during both fall and spring seasons to bolster the population.
The reintroduction marks a significant milestone in the ongoing conservation of one of North America’s most endangered mammals.
