BFF.  Best Friends Forever, and many Black-Footed Ferret researchers feel that passionately about the endangered mammal.

Wildlife biologists along with zoo/museum educators are hosting an all-day event at Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the rediscovery of the endangered Black-footed Ferret.

More than 1,200 students, grades K-12 from area schools, are learning about BFFs today, with a closeup and personal view of one from the 20-year-old captive breeding program at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO.

Another 1,000 university students will attend two presentations tonight presented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the successful recovery of the Black-footed Ferret.

The Black-footed Ferret is endemic to the Great Plains region of North America.  It is related to weasels and is found nowhere else in the world.

It was thought to be extinct, when a small population was rediscovered in 1981 in Wyoming.  In order to save the species, the 18 ferrets that made up this remaining population were captured and moved to a captive breeding site.

Today, Black-footed Ferrets have been released at 20 reintroduction sites in North America, including Logan County in Kansas.  There  are about 1,000 individuals now living in the wild.

Watch for more on an upcoming Street Beat newscast, Eagle Community TV Channel 14.