This will begin a series of introductions to the speakers at the Ferret
Aid 2006 Symposium to be held in Toronto this June.  While there are many
familiar faces, there are also many new ones.  This speaker is relatively
new to the domestic ferret scene, but is becoming more well known
rapidly.  Meet Travis Livieri.
 
It was just a denim shirt with a ferret embroidered on it.  And, I
wanted it!  I wanted it SOOOOOOOOO bad that I spent way more than it
was worth!  But, in the end, I won it!  This occurred at the St. Louis
Ferret Symposium in April 2005.  Little did I know that it would also
begin a relationship with one of the most interesting men I have had the
privilege to know.  Travis Livieri is a wildlife biologist.  A wildlife
biologist must wear many hats.  He is a long-haul driver, an off-roads
driver and a chauffeur.  He is a researcher, an educator and a
fundraiser.  He also must function as a veterinarian.  Often he must
also be a magician.  To me he has been an educator, a supervisor and a
friend.  And, when you are a wildlife biologist specializing in Mustella
nigripes (the black-footed ferret; see http://blackfootedferret.org) you
must often work all night!
 
This past September I had the privilege to join Travis Livieri, executive
director of Prairie Wildlife Research
( http://www.prairiewildlife.org )
on the South Dakota prairie as he coordinated the efforts of the World
Wildlife Fund, U.S. Forest Service, Prairie Wildlife Research and
individuals from the U.S. Geological Survey, Lindblad Expeditions and
the Dept.  of Fish and Wildlife to complete the annual *Black-footed
Ferret Roundup* in the Conata Basin region of the Black Hills.  (To
see the resulting National Geographic video, visit
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm;
type *ferret* in the search box and watch the video.)  That denim shirt
got some *war woulnds.*
 
The re-introduction program began in 1994 and the following summer
Livieri and a colleague found the first litter of kits in SD.  *I have
watched this population grow to a self-sustaining group,* Livieri said.
This year more than 100 previously unchipped BFFs were found and
microchipped.  They were catalogued and many were vaccinated against
the sylvatic plague, a major health concern for the BFF.  The vaccine was
donated to the program through the magic of Travis, once again.
 
Livieri is the son of a retired firefighter and secretary, and has a
sister and brother.  Growing up in Milwaukee, he hopes to one day return
to the forests of northern Wisconsin.  Until then, Livieri spends his
days doing paperwork and trying to catch a nap and his nights on the lone
prairie counting black-footed ferrets and helping bring them back from
the edge of extinction.  And enjoying his favorite hat -- the one that
says *Green Bay Packers.*
 
This year the BFF travels to Canada as efforts to re-introduce it there
begin.  Both Livieri and a special friend from the Toronto Zoo's Black
Footed Ferret breeding program will be at the 2006 Ferret Aid Symposium
(http://ferretaid.org/events/ferret_aid_2006.html) in Toronto this June.
Come join us and learn more about the BFF and how YOU can be a hero in
today's world.
 
Travis can be contacted at:
Prairie Wildlife Research
P.O. Box 515
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2380
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[Posted in FML issue 5204]