Here is the rest of what I read on the net to substantiate that they were not always on the Conata Basin but were raised in captivity and reintroduced.
The black-footed ferret weighs about 1 kg (2.2 lb). It is a slender, wiry animal with a black face mask and short, sleek fur with a yellow-buff color.
The black-footed ferret is usually found on shortgrass and midgrass prairies in close association with prairie dogs, which constitute most of its diet. In addition to feeding on prairie dogs, the ferret lives in prairie dog colonies. It spends most of its time underground in prairie dog burrows, typically spending only a few minutes aboveground each day. In burrows it sleeps, caches its food, avoids predators and harsh weather, and gives birth to its young. While remaining in a burrow the ferret subsists on cached food. The black-footed ferret does not hibernate, but in winter, the amount of time it is active decreases substantially. It is secretive and primarily nocturnal.
The female black-footed ferret usually bears 3 - 4 young per litter. The young emerge from the burrow in July and leave their mother in September or October. The black-footed ferret is solitary, except during the breeding season, and males apparently do not help to rear the young.
The black-footed ferret originally occurred in the Great Plains from Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, to Texas and Arizona, USA. It experienced a dramatic decline during the first half of the 20th century. In Canada, it has not been recorded since 1937. By the late 1970's it was thought to be extinct in both countries. In 1981, however, a colony was found in Wyoming, USA. All remaining black-footed ferrets were captured and sent to a captive breeding center. As a result of the captive breeding program, black-footed ferrets now live at seven reintroduction sites in the USA, including sites in Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, South Dakota, and along the Colorado/Utah border, as well as in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Loss of habitat is the primary reason why the black-footed ferret declined almost to extinction and why it remains severely threatened. Conversion of grasslands to agricultural uses and widespread prairie dog eradication programs have reduced ferret habitat to less than 2 percent of what once existed. Remaining habitat is now fragmented, with prairie dog towns separated by great expanses of cropland and human development. Diseases, including plague (affecting both the ferrets and their prairie dog prey) and canine distemper, as well as poisoning and shooting, also remain as potential threats.
