During the first week of September 2014, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists were doing what they do best: saving species. Staff released six more black-footed ferrets—once thought to be extinct in North America—into the Colorado prairie. SCBI supervisory biologist Warren Lynch and animal keeper Chris Crowe were on hand for the release, as was senior education specialist Laura Linn. The team also transported 32 ferrets from SCBI to the Ferret Conservation Center. Those 32 ferrets will be reintroduced onto North American prairies later this fall. SCBI breeds black-footed ferrets every year. SCBI senior curator Paul Marinari, who also keeps the studbook for the Black-Footed Ferret Species Survival Program, worked with Fish and Wildlife Service to determine, based on genetics, which ferrets would be released into the wild. #WeSaveSpecies
