The black-footed ferret was thought to be extinct in the 1970s until a last population was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. Under initial protection measures, this population increased in numbers but then became infected by canine distemper and plague, which threatened to completely wipe out the species. As a last resort, the final 18 wild animals were caught and brought into captivity between 1985 and 1987, and a successful captive-breeding programme has been running ever since.