Editor's note: The following is an unedited release from the National Park Service.

Nine black-footed ferrets have new homes after being released at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. These ferrets, raised at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in northern Colorado, will augment the park’s estimated ferret population of 25 to 30 animals.

“This release is part of a national effort to bring this animal back from near extinction,” said Wind Cave Superintendent Vidal Dávila. “Wind Cave National Park has a long history of reintroducing animals, starting with bison in 1913 and then elk and pronghorn. In 2007, this legacy continued when we received 49 black-footed ferrets.”

Black-footed ferrets are considered one of the rarest animals in North America. Thought to be extinct, in 1981 a population was discovered on a Wyoming ranch. Since then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked to bring the population back from near extinction and has reintroduced ferrets to 28 sites across the West.

A nocturnal animal that lives in prairie dog towns, it is rarely seen above ground in the daylight.