Black-footed Ferret Webcam

Welcome to the Louisville Zoo’s Black-Footed Ferret Live Cam!

Meet Carya, a 4-month old black-footed ferret that recently joined us from the Smithsonian. We’re hoping to welcome her to motherhood in spring 2026!

Our previous BFF, Rhaenyra, and her kits headed out to Colorado in early October to prepare for their release into the wild.

BFF WEBCAM

Ferret Cam Insight
Our female ferret Carya is thriving in her cozy habitat! What you might see on the feed are carefully prepared meals — rats cut into thirds, a processed meat diet formulated for small carnivores, and / or an adult mouse once a week for variety — placed by our keeper team. Carya may occasionally be out of view as she naps or explores.Learn more!

BFF FUN FACTS

They’re underground experts—black-footed ferrets spend about 95% of their lives below the surface in prairie dog burrows.
They specialize in “periscoping”—they’ll pop their heads out of burrow entrances to survey their surroundings, just like little sentries.
Prairie dogs are their main entrée—they can eat over 100 prairie dogs a year, making them true specialists.
They’re masters of hide-and-seek—ferrets can visit up to 400 burrows in a single night while hunting.
They talk it out—from chattering and hissing when startled, to whimpering gently to guide their young, these ferrets are quite the vocal communicators.
Each ferret packs a punch—like their mustelid cousins (weasels and otters), they produce a strong musk to mark territory or defend themselves.
Born to breed young—females are ready to mate by 8 months old and raise their kits solo like the tough moms they are.
They’ve made a comeback—once considered extinct in the wild, careful breeding programs have helped reintroduce hundreds back into their native habitats.
Nightlife is their jam—black-footed ferrets are strictly nocturnal, hunting and exploring under cover of darkness.
Tiny but mighty—they only weigh up to 3 pounds but are apex predators in prairie dog towns.

Ways to Support our Black-footed Ferrets

Buy a membership or visit the Zoo — 25 cents from every general admission ticket sold and $1 every membership sold contributes directly to conservation efforts to “Better the Bond Between People and Our Planet.”

ADOPT a Ferret — By gifting an adoption or becoming a symbolic parent of your favorite animal at the Zoo, you help us take a bite out of the over $600,000 we spend annually to feed our amazing animals.

Donate to the Louisville Zoo Fund — and directly support your Louisville Zoo and all the residents in its care.

Black-footed Ferret Release in Colorado

Recently, a number of black-footed ferrets (BFFs) were released in Colorado as a part of ongoing conservation efforts. This release included ferrets from your own Louisville Zoo! Learn more as our black-footed ferret keeper, Chris Florence, shares about his recent trip to Colorado and the process of transferring, preconditioning and caring for these BFFs.

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