Paul Marinari, senior curator of animal care sciences at NZCBI, is the studbook keeper for black-footed ferrets.Īt birth, black-footed ferret kits are blind, weigh less than 10 grams and have a thin layer of white fur covering their bodies. Hickory is one of 18 breeding female black-footed ferrets residing at NZCBI. This matchmaking process helps ensure the genetic diversity of a population in human care. SAFE tracks the lineage of individual animals in a record called a “studbook.” When considering which animals to breed, a studbook keeper examines the individuals’ genetic relatedness to one another, overall health and temperament, among other factors, and makes recommendations accordingly.
Hickory and Talo received a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program. This is the first litter for Hickory and the third for 2-year-old male Talo, who came to NZCBI from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. When the kits are about 10 days, animal care staff will perform a neonatal exam and determine their sexes. Starting at four days old, the kits receive regular check-ups to ensure they are developing normally and gaining weight appropriately. Over the past few days, they have left Hickory to bond with and care for her kits without interference. In addition to her kits, Hickory is fostering a kit from another litter. Animal care staff are closely monitoring the ferrets’ behaviors through the Black-Footed Ferret Cam, a temporary live webcam on the Zoo’s website.
One-year-old female Hickory gave birth to six-surviving kits May 27. Carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia welcomed a litter of endangered black-footed ferrets last week.
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