Jerry L. Godbey

Influence of prerelease experience on reintroduced black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes)

Captive breeding is increasingly being used to create supplies of endangered animals for release into natural habitats, but rearing strategies vary and debates arise over which methods are most eAcient. We assessed postrelease behaviors and survival of three groups of black-footed ferrets, each with diAerent prerelease experience. Eighteen ferret kits60 days of age were moved with their dams from cages to 80-m 2 outdoor pens with prairie dog burrows. These animals were compared to animals reared in standard cages (na 72), some of which were given experience killing prairie dogs (na 32). Ferrets were released onto white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus) colonies in Wyoming, USA, in fall, 1992. Radio-tagged cage-reared ferrets made longer nightly moves and dispersed further from release sites than their pen-reared counterparts. The band return rate was 4-fold higher for pen-reared animals than for cage-reared animals during surveys conducted about 1 month after release. We recommend routine use of quasinatural outdoor pens for prerelease conditioning of black-footed ferrets. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Vector Control Improves Survival of Three Species of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys) in Areas Considered Enzootic for Plague

Plague causes periodic epizootics that decimate populations of prairie dogs (PDs) (Cynomys), but the means by which the causative bacterium (Yersinia pestis) persists between epizootics are poorly understood. Plague epizootics in PDs might arise as the result of introductions of Y. pestis from sources outside PD colonies. However, it remains possible that plague persists in PDs during interepizootic periods and is transmitted at low rates among highly susceptible individuals within and between their colonies. If this is true, application of vector control to reduce flea numbers might reduce mortality among PDs. To test whether vector control enhances PD survival in the absence of obvious plague epizootics, we reduced the numbers of fleas (vectors for Y. pestis) 96-98% (1 month posttreatment) on 15 areas involving three species of PDs (Cynomys leucurus, Cynomys parvidens in Utah, and Cynomys ludovicianus in Montana) during 2000-2004 using deltamethrin dust delivered into burrows as a pulicide. Even during years without epizootic plague, PD survival rates at dusted sites were 31-45% higher for adults and 2-34% higher for juveniles compared to survival rates at nondusted sites. Y. pestis was cultured from 49 of the 851 flea pools tested (6882 total fleas) and antibodies against Y. pestis were identified in serum samples from 40 of 2631 PDs. Although other explanations are possible, including transmission of other potentially fatal pathogens by fleas, ticks, or other ectoparasites, our results suggest that plague might be maintained indefinitely in PD populations in the absence of free epizootics and widespread mortality among these animals. If PDs and their fleas support enzootic cycles of plague transmission, there would be important implications for the conservation of these animals and other species.

Movements and survival of black-footed ferrets associated with an experimental translocation in South Dakota

Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) apparently were extirpated from all native habitats by 1987, and their repatriation requires a combination of captive breeding, reintroductions, and translocations among sites. Improvements in survival rates of released ferrets have resulted from experience in quasi-natural environments during their rearing. Reestablishment of a self-sustaining wild population by 1999 provided the 1st opportunity to initiate new populations by translocating wild-born individuals. Using radiotelemetry, we compared behaviors and survival of 18 translocated wild-born ferrets and 18 pen-experienced captive-born ferrets after their release into a prairie dog colony not occupied previously by ferrets. Translocated wild-born ferrets moved significantly less and had significantly higher short-term survival rates than their captive-born counterparts. Using mark–recapture methods, we also assessed potential impacts to the established donor population of removing 37% of its estimated annual production of kits. Annual survival rates for 30 ferret kits remaining at the donor subcomplex were higher than rates for 54 ferret kits at the control subcomplex (unmanipulated) for males (+82%) and females (+32%). Minimum survival of translocated kits did not differ significantly from survival of those at the control subcomplex. Direct translocation of young, wild-born ferrets from site to site appears to be an efficient method to establish new populations.

Challenges to reestablishment of free-ranging populations of black-footed ferrets

The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) of North America is critically endangered due in part to its extreme specialization on formerly stable and abundant prairie dogs (Cynomys). Its close relative, the Siberian polecat (M. eversmannii) seems to have been subjected to a varying environment that was not conductive to specialization. One source of environmental variation in Asian steppes was plague (caused by Yersina pestis), which was absent from North America. Introduction of plague to North America presents serious challenges to ferret recovery. Partial solutions to other biological and political problems have been found, resulting in improved production in captivity, increased survival post-release, and thriving populations in plague-free South Dakota.