The ferrets were taken to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department s research facility near Sybille, which became the primary ferret breeding facility. Since 1985, private zoos at seven locations in the United States and Canada, including the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, have established captive breeding populations, thus minimizing the potential for disease or other disaster to eliminate the entire species. The captive breeding program has been successful, with the first captive-raised animals reintroduced back to the wild in Wyoming in 1991. Although the reintroductions are encouraging, problems are still being encountered. Fewer animals have been released at each site than biologists would like, and survival of released animals has been low.
Funding is also a problem for ferret recovery.
The Sybille facility has produced about 75 percent of the young ferrets since 1987, but production has been expensive. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is facing budget problems and likely will scale back captive breeding activities. Federal funds for endangered species recovery have always been limited, and budget cuts are likely. Future captive breeding activities might have to rely more on the zoos and other private funding sources. Prairie dogs have been surveyed to identify areas where ferrets might still occur in the wild and to determine potential ferret reintroduction sites.