Black Footed Ferret
The Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team
Cochise
Cochise was born on the 5th of June, 1996 at the
Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky. He moved to the Omaha
Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska in October 1996. He was one of six
kits (baby ferrets) born to Sia and Matthew. Chochise is very
territorial and quite vocal whenever someone approaches his nestbox.
He enjoys hiding in paper sacks provided by the ferret keepers.
His personality might best be described as "fiesty!"
Cochise
weighs 994 grams.
Kiva
Kiva was born the 6th of June, 1996 at the Louisville
Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky to Hopi (mother or "dam")
and Kiowa (father or "sire") and was one of a litter
of four. "Kiva" is the name of the ceremonial structure
created by the Hopi tribe. Her litter mates were all released
into the wild young, so they were not named. Kiva was bred by
Cheyenne last year and had a litter of one male and five females,
named "Cacique" (the chief Hopi priest who cares for
the kiva), "Adobe" (southwestern brick), "Anasazi" (a
pre-historic southwest tribe, pre-Hopi), "Mohave" (tribe
of the Yuma Nation), "Nampeyo" (a female Hopi potter),
and "Seri" (a Mexican plains tribe). This year, Kiva
whelped (birthed) a litter of four males and three females. She
is a ferret who needs lots of toys and enrichments to occupy
her time, or she tends to get into trouble. She enjoys attacking
a Gumabone® wishbone that dangles above her tunnel opening.
- Black-footed ferrets are generally about 20 - 24
inches long, including a 6 inch tail. They weigh about two
pounds.
- Black-footed ferrets are members of the mustelidae
family which includes mink, weasels, badgers, skunks, otters
and the domestic ferret - a popular pet.
- Black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct
until a small population was discovered in northwest Wyoming
in 1981. The last 18 known wild ferrets were taken into captivity
and today about 300 live in 7 captive breeding centers in North
America. Their offspring have been released back into the wild
in several western states including Wyoming, Montana, South
Dakota and Arizona. Ferrets were also released in northwestern
Colorado for the first time in the fall of 1998.
GIVE THE GIFT OF WILDLIFE! Black-footed ferrets
are the rarest mammals in North America. Once nearly extinct,
ferrets are making a comeback through breeding and release programs
into their native prairie grasslands across the West.
The Black-Footed
Ferret Adoption Program is a project of The Black-Footed Ferret
Recovery Implementation Team with the assistance of the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation. A Portion of your donation is tax-deductible.
WEBSITE: http://www.blackfootedferret.org/
