black footed ferrets

On the grasslands near Badlands National Park, wildlife officials have been waging a war since spring to save one of the nation's largest colonies of endangered black-footed ferrets.

Endangered black-footed ferrets aren't exactly lining up to be stuck with a vaccine, but in an effort to help control an extensive outbreak of plague in South Dakota, some of the ferrets are getting dosed with a vaccine given by biologists.

Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America. The plague is transmitted from animals to humans by bites of infected fleas, but it can be cured with antibiotics if treatment is prompt.