|
|
|
Black-Footed Ferret
Status
Endangered
Description
The black-footed ferret is a member of the weasel family (mustelids). It has a long neck and black markings on its face, the tip of its tail and on its feet. It is very quick and agile and is most active at night (nocturnal).
Related species
Long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata)
Least weasel (Mustela nivalis)
Size
Ferrets grow up to two feet in length (including a six inch tail) and weigh approximately two to three pounds.
Population
Approximately a thousand black-footed ferrets live in captivity at breeding facilities, while another 80 exist in the wild following release by the federal government in the US.
Lifespan
Black-footed ferrets have been known to live up to 12 years in captivity.
Range
The black-footed ferret was once found throughout the eastern and southern Rockies and the Great Plains.
Habitat
Prairie dog towns of the plains and plateaus are also home to the black-footed ferret, who utilise their burrows for shelter and travel.
Food
Prairie dogs make up the main staple of the ferret's diet although they occasionally eat mice and other small animals.
Behaviour
In the wild, black-footed ferrets spend 99 per cent of their time underground. During the night they hunt for sleeping prairie dogs in their burrows. Sometimes prairie dogs attack as a group and drag a ferret underground.
Offspring
After a six-week gestation period, one to six young are born in June. The young appear above ground in July and grow as large as their parents by September.
History
Until 1981, the ferret was thought to be extinct. During that year a small population was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming. Today, captive-bred ferrets have been reintroduced to the Shirley Basin in Wyoming; UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge in Montana; the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana; the Badlands National Park in South Dakota; Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in South Dakota and Aubrey Valley in Arizona.
Threats
Both habitat loss and the continued decline of their prey base, the prairie dog, continue to threaten the black-footed ferret.
