Herc, a male black-footed ferret has a blood sample drawn by Dr. Julie Kreeger, a contract veterinarian at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Wellington, Colorado April 11, 2007. By 1980 it was believed that the black-footed ferret was extinct when a group of only 18 was discovered in Wyoming. With breeding taking place at the Conservation Center the wild population is now around 500. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES)