The state of black-footed ferret and other weasel species exhibits in zoos

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Are there any really good ferret or weasel exhibits in zoos?

It seems like if exhibited properly that these could be very active, engaging animals and if not become zoo superstar species, at least popular.

The black-footed ferret has a very compelling story, having narrowly come back from the dead and hopefully recovering in the wild. They are sleek, beautiful, and playful animals, as well as being fierce carnivores (relative to their size).

They are also nocturnal. I have not seen a black-footed ferret exhibit that showcases this species to its full potential. The one at the San Diego Safari Park at Condor Ridge was okay. It was spacious and when the ferret was awake it was fun to watch it slink around, but most of the time it was asleep, being a nocturnal animal in an outdoor exhibit during the day. The other BFF exhibits that I have seen at St. Louis and the Smithsonian National Zoo were not particularly impressive. All one could see were balls of fur curled up in smallish, fully-lit terrariums.

Are there any good BFF or other weasel species exhibits out there that people like? I am not aware of any nocturnal BFF exhibits, but maybe they exist.

Do any European zoos or other zoos in the world have good exhibits for ferrets or weasel species?
 
When I visited Minnesota Zoo many years ago, they had some very nice exhibits for members of the weasel family on their Minnesota Trail. That area has since been redone and I am not sure if they still have those. I hope so, because I too feel weasels are underrepresented and in my travels to several dozen zoos all over the country, Minnesota is literally the only good one I have seen.
 
Fort Worth has a BFF exhibit, but in all the years I've visited I have never once seen the animal awake. If it were in a nocturnal exhibit it might make a compelling animal, but it almost seems like it might be better in an off exhibit conservation center.
 
Thanks for the responses AZDocent and jbnbsn99.

Has anybody here on ZooChat been to the new Minnesota trail and seen if they still have weasels? Someone probably has a zoo review with the info. I'll look for it.

I think that the BFFs on exhibit are "surplus" animals that aren't needed for the breeding pool. There are several ferret breeding centers (not sure how many now). There is one at the Phoenix Zoo. I don't think they actually have the species exhibited (please correct me if this wrong).

Update: geomorph doesn't mention weasels on the Minnesota Trail in his extremely detailed Minnesota Zoo review: http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-minnesota-zoo-151746/
 
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The Phoenix Zoo used to display a non-breeding surplus animal in what was then the nocturnal exhibit on the Arizona Trail (now Amazing Amphibians). Every time I saw this animal it was curled up asleep. So maybe even daylight reversal isn't a solution.
 
Ituri said:
The Phoenix Zoo used to display a non-breeding surplus animal in what was then the nocturnal exhibit on the Arizona Trail (now Amazing Amphibians). Every time I saw this animal it was curled up asleep. So maybe even daylight reversal isn't a solution.
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Interesting. It doesn't sound like anyone has yet designed a great BFF exhibit.

Here is a potential popular species that needs a great showcase exhibit somewhere if someone wants to take up the challenge. Maybe the behavior of the animal makes this not possible.

Are there any good European ferret exhibits out there somewhere in zoos? In US zoos at least the European ferrets seem to be primarily education animals that live behind the scenes when not out in the education programs. Do European zoos display European ferrets?
 
I don't recall seeing any weasels at Minnesota Zoo, and black-footed ferrets are almost as rare in American zoos as my recollection is Fort Worth and National having inconspicuous animals. Even fishers are almost nonexistent, and off of the top of my head I've seen that species at Charles Paddock, Northwest Trek and Minnesota. In Europe various species of weasels and martens are much more common in zoos.
 
snowleopard said:
I don't recall seeing any weasels at Minnesota Zoo, and black-footed ferrets are almost as rare in American zoos as my recollection is Fort Worth and National having inconspicuous animals. Even fishers are almost nonexistent, and off of the top of my head I've seen that species at Charles Paddock, Northwest Trek and Minnesota. In Europe various species of weasels and martens are much more common in zoos.
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I was curious if there were any attempts to reintroduce the BFFs to Canada, and apparently there are, with a breeding center located at the Toronto Zoo: Toronto Zoo | Captive Breeding and Reintroduction

Does anybody know if Toronto has a BFF exhibit, and if so, how is it?
 
DavidBrown said:
Are there any good European ferret exhibits out there somewhere in zoos? ... Do European zoos display European ferrets?
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You probably are referring to European polecats. Ferrets are a domestic species, which probably are linked to a different species (Steppe).

I have worked with a number of European mustelids - weasel, stoat, pine marten, polecat, badger, otter, American mink and ferret. In my experience all have some difficulties in displaying well. I cannot answer on a nocturnal display as all were displayed in natural light exhibits. Otters are the easiest and most regularly displayed so I won't go in details. Badgers (social), mink and martens (antisocial) spend most of their time as little furry balls in nest-boxes, but with well-socialised individuals can be encouraged to interact for feeds and talks. Weasels and stoats (both antisocial) can be difficult to observe whether asleep or awake within the enclosure, possibly due to their size. Even socialised individuals are not a great display as they seem to pick up bad behaviours such as stereotypic pacing. Polecats and ferrets are relatively social and more happy to sit out in the open. Overall they are more robust in habits and character, so to my mind are the only 'good' captive display mustelids next to otters, with badgers a more distant third.

I have no idea whether my observations of European species translates to other species, but it is interesting to note that mustelids are not a popular display species in most zoos, barring otters. Even with otters the more social and terrestrial Short-clawed are a better display then Europeans.
 
The animals on the National Zoo D.C. ferret cam are actually active in the early mornings and evenings, in particular the younger animals. This what could be expected from crepuscular animals. The camera is in one of the nursing dens of the black footed ferrets.
You can check it out right now. I am surprised no one has mentioned this.
 
carlos77 said:
The animals on the National Zoo D.C. ferret cam are actually active in the early mornings and evenings, in particular the younger animals. This what could be expected from crepuscular animals. The camera is in one of the nursing dens of the black footed ferrets.
You can check it out right now. I am surprised no one has mentioned this.
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Thanks very much for the info Carlos. I had no idea that this existed. Do you know if the ferret cam is on the exhibit or the behind the scenes breeding center? I guess the ferret cam itself qualifies as a BFF exhibit, and it sounds like a good one...I will go check it out now.

Update: here is the link to the website with the ferret cam. Unfortunately my computer is telling me that there is no plug in that will allow me to watch it.:mad: Maybe this is a Mac problem. It looks like the ferret cam is at the Conservation Research Center and the only live BFF is at the small mammal house at the zoo.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/northamerica/default.cfm

more BFF info:
Recovery of Black-Footed Ferrets - National Zoo| FONZ
 
tetrapod said:
You probably are referring to European polecats. Ferrets are a domestic species, which probably are linked to a different species (Steppe).

I have no idea whether my observations of European species translates to other species, but it is interesting to note that mustelids are not a popular display species in most zoos, barring otters. Even with otters the more social and terrestrial Short-clawed are a better display then Europeans.
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Thanks very much for sharing your experience and insight Tetrapod. Your observations seem like they do explain why we don't see more mustellid exhibits. Maybe using technology like the ferret cam that Carlos cited is the best that we can do.
 
The mustelids are difficult species to display. When they are active they are very active, so they need a fair amount of space and well-furnished enclosures, but many are so small and active for such short periods that most visitors never see them.
I can recall seeing a yellow-throated marten in the Clore Pavilion at Regents Park many years ago, as I think it was always asleep. Rather more recently they displayed a weasel (a native species) which appeared very stressed in a small glass-fronted exhibit. I agree with tetrapod that the larger species like polecats and martens make better exhibits (and I can just about remember seeing tayra and grison as well).
I have not seen many of the current UK exhibits, as they tend to be at the smaller zoos which concentrate on native wildlife. The best one that I have seen recently is for marbled polecats at Edinburgh; it is a medium-sized glass-fronted enclosure which has a sandy soil and is well planted. There is also a large indoor section with sleeping chambers. The trouble was that it took me five or six visits during the day to see one of the polecats (photos in the Gallery).
Incidentally the best view I have ever had of a weasel was at Whipsnade, just outside the old moose enclosure (where the reindeer are kept now). It was carrying a dead fledgling starling up from the escarpment as I was walking the other way. It dropped the starling and ran off. I thought quickly and realised it was likely to come back, so I stepped back and started to set the exposure on my camera. Unfortunately the weasel thought faster than I did and rushed back, picked up the starling and ran off while I was struggling to get ready - you always remember the one that got away :o

Alan
 
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Siberian weasel are exhibited in a number of UK collections . They probably all originated at Hamerton which bred quite a few but has now gone out of the species . On my only visit to Hamerton a few years ago the weasels were all very active as they were being fed and their enclosures cleaned . I thought they were a very attractive species .
 
gentle lemur said:
It was carrying a dead fledgling starling up from the escarpment as I was walking the other way. It dropped the starling and ran off. I thought quickly and realised it was likely to come back, so I stepped back and started to set the exposure on my camera. Unfortunately the weasel thought faster than I did and rushed back, picked up the starling and ran off while I was struggling to get ready - you always remember the one that got away :o
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I haven't had that with a Weasel, but several times with a Stoat, where they are carrying prey (usually Rabbit) and drop it in fright. They nearly always come back for it if you can wait quietly nearby. Obviously a mustelid trait.

I also watched one come back and carry on attacking a live 'mazed' rabbit once too, until it dragged it away.
 
Bele said:
Siberian weasel are exhibited in a number of UK collections ..
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As far as I am aware, they are only at Longleat.

What amazes me is that the Beech Marten, a species held in almost 70 European collections, is completely unrepresented in the UK.
 
Toronto has a pretty decent sized BFF exhibit; there's things I'd change about it but otherwise mroe than acceptable in my eyes. I believe the featured animals are non-breeders; the zoo maintains a colony off property (I believe it's the red barn across from the zoo) to help safeguard them against disease.
 
Meaghan Edwards said:
Toronto has a pretty decent sized BFF exhibit; there's things I'd change about it but otherwise mroe than acceptable in my eyes. I believe the featured animals are non-breeders; the zoo maintains a colony off property (I believe it's the red barn across from the zoo) to help safeguard them against disease.
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Thanks for the report on the Toronto exhibit Meaghan. If you ever happen to be at the zoo with a camera near the BFF exhibit I'd love to see a photo of it if you feel like posting one.
 
Tayra

My favourite musteild enclosure is at Exmoor zoo. It is a small zoo with a unusual array of rare animals. They have a Tayra which is extremely active and my personal favourite mammal in the zoo, (not the leopards:D ).
Mustelids do make great attractions :D
kind regards coffeepheasant
 
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