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Adopt a bald eagle or California sea lion.
Visit
the Smithsonian's American Indian Museum.
Get kids' activities on black-footed ferrets, river otters, prairie dogs and other North American wildlife.
With its rivers and waterfalls, lakes and wetlands, springs,
geysers, and caves, all rimmed with rocky seacoasts,
sandy beaches, corals, and deltas, North America's 5.8 billion acres
boast an amazing abundance
and diversity of wildlife and wild lands. Unfortunately, many of
them—like the black-footed ferret,
its prairie dog prey, and their grassland habitat—are highly endangered.
The National Zoo—the nation's zoo—exhibits many North American species.
Coming to visit? 
See this important update about American Trail.
Live the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone—play WolfQuest.
Black-Footed Ferret Milestone Year: 30th Conservation Anniversary Coupled with Record Number of Kit Births at Zoo's Virginia Campus
The black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct in the wild, was rediscovered in 1981 with a small population of 24 animals in Wyoming―30 years later the species’ future is brighter than ever. The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is marking this anniversary with a record-breaking year―50 surviving black-footed ferret kits were born at the Zoo’s Front Royal, Virginia, facility this year, helping to bolster the population of North America’s sole ferret species.
Today more than 1,000 ferrets exist in the wild as the result of a successful reintroduction program at six breeding institutions, including SCBI. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the first release of black-footed ferrets back into their native prairie habitat. SCBI has produced 670 black-footed ferrets, 220 of which have been released into the wild. The remaining ferrets were kept for captive breeding in subsequent years.
Fifty-one black-footed ferret kits were born at SCBI this year from April through June and 50 survived. All but one of the kits were born through natural breeding. A single kit was the result of artificial insemination using frozen sperm collected in 1997. The average litter size is three to four kits, and this year’s largest litter had ten kits. Earlier this year, the cam below featured a mother ferret and her seven kits, born on June 17. The kits left SCBI in September 28, and will eventually be released into the wild.
Read all about ferret conservation.
The Zoo exhibits a black-footed ferret at the Small Mammal House. Learn more.
Voters Name Ferret on the Web Cam
After voting polls closed at noon on November 4, black-footed ferret keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, revealed the 
ferret web cam star’s new name. More than 1,000 voters picked the winning name, Rosebud, on Smithsonian magazine’s website. The name represents one of 19 sites, the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where captive-bred black-footed ferrets are released. Rosebud the ferret will remain in captivity for possible breeding and on view on the Zoo’s ferret cam for devoted ferret fans.
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North America Photo Gallery |
Help with cam
Can’t see any animals?
The animal(s) in this enclosure may have moved out of view.
Watching a black-footed ferret:
You are viewing a black-footed ferret nest box at the Zoo’s Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, where ferrets are bred to be saved from extinction. The kits shown on the cam this year have left for Colorado and will eventually be released into the wild. Ferrets, which once ranged across the Great Plains and are now one of the world's rarest mammals. 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of a collaborative ferret conservation effort.
Recovery of the endangered black-footed ferret | 
Black-footed ferret facts
Flamingo Cam
Octopus Cam
American Trail Closes Temporarily
The Zoo's American Trail (former known as Beaver Valley), home
to several North American mammals and birds, has closed for construction of a wonderful new exhibit for seals and sea lions. Until then, the following animals will not be on exhibit at the Zoo: beavers,
gray seals, California sea lions,
wolves, bald eagles, and brown pelicans. Thanks for your patience while we work to improve the Zoo for its animals and visitors. Find out about the new seal and sea lion exhibit.
