Bubonic plague outbreak amongst Black-footed ferrets and prairie
dogs in South Dakota Black-footed ferret. USFWS. Black-footed
ferrets, back from extinction By the late 1970s the black-footed
ferret was thought to be extinct. However in 1981 a dog
belonging to farmers in Wyoming killed a black-footed ferret,
and a few months later a live black-footed ferret is spotted. A
small breeding population is discovered, containing just 129
animals, and plans are made to begin a captive breeding program.
However in 1985 outbreaks of sylvatic plague and canine
distemper decimate the population of the ferrets, so the last 18
known animals are brought into captivity in an effort to save
the species. Amazingly, more than 5,100 kits have been born in
captivity since 1987, and since 1991, more than 2,200 have been
reintroduced to the wild in the black-footed ferrets' historical
range in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. August 2008. In May,
sylvatic plague was confirmed