04/29/2026
In 1987, the Last 18 Black-Footed Ferrets on Earth Were Captured for a Breeding Programme Nobody Was Sure Would Work. Today There Are Over 300 in the Wild.
Eighteen animals. Every single one caught. Every single one put in a zoo.
The Black-Footed Ferret — Mustela nigripes — was declared extinct in 1979. Then in 1981, a ranch dog in Meeteetse, Wyoming brought home something unusual. A ferret. A survey found a small wild colony. By 1987, disease and continued population decline had reduced that colony to 18 individuals.
Wildlife managers made the call. Capture all of them. Captive breed.
It was controversial. Removing every animal from the wild to breed in captivity meant accepting that the wild population was finished. There was no safety net. If the breeding programme failed, the species was gone.
It didn't fail.
By 1991, the first captive-bred ferrets were reintroduced to Wyoming. The process was slow, setback-prone, and required decades of management — prairie dog colony restoration, disease management, continued monitoring. Black-Footed Ferrets depend almost entirely on prairie dogs for food and shelter.
Today: approximately 300–400 wild individuals, with ongoing releases every year. Not recovered. Not stable. But alive, and increasing.
From 18 to hundreds. Because someone captured them all and refused to give up.