Black-footed Ferret

Black-footed ferrets depend almost entirely on prairie dogs as prey, although they occasionally feed on mice, ground squirrels, snakes, and ground-nesting birds.

Black-footed Ferrets are a type of . An , these mammals used to roam over much of the prairies and grasslands of North America, but are exceedingly rare now.

Male black-footed ferrets are about 10% larger than females, and can reach up to 58 cm (23 in.) long, including the tail.

Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) Texas Status Endangered U.S. Status Endangered, Listed 3/11/1967 Description The Black-footed Ferret has a long, slender body with short legs.

Black-footed Ferret Mustela nigripes The Black-footed Ferret usually lives in prairie dog towns, where it sometimes sits upright looking for a burrow to raid. A prairie dog that catches sight of it will dart quickly underground.

Black-Footed Ferret Mustela nigripes The endangered black-footed ferret is a member of the weasel family.

Black-Footed Ferret Profile The black-footed ferret could also be called the black-eyed ferret because of the distinctive "stick-em up" mask that adorns its face. The tan ferrets also have black markings on their feet, legs, and tail tip.

Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) No photo of the Black-footed Ferret available.

Black-footed Ferret : Family Mustelidae : Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman) ...

The black-footed Ferret is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is the most endangered mammal in North America. The destruction of prairie dog towns and loss of habitat has severely impacted the black-footed ferret population.

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.

Black-footed Ferrets: Life Behind the Mask More on Black-footed Ferret Recovery Adopt a bald eagle or California sea lion.

A black-footed ferret kit is about three-quarters grown by July when it first ventures out of the burrow. Long after it stops nursing, it depends on its mother for meals of meat.

Black-footed ferrets are about 18 inches (45 cm) long, with a furry 6 inch (15 cm) tail, and they weigh roughly 2 pounds (1 kg). Like most members of the family, they are very low to the ground with an elongated body and very short legs.

The black-footed ferret is a nocturnal creature, and is therefore rarely seen. His peak hours of activity are around dusk. His level of activity is reduced in winter.

ECO Wear Black-footed Ferret Embroidered Cap ECO Wear Moose Embroidered Cap ECO Wear Grizzly Bear Embroidered Cap ...

Additional records of the spotted ground squirrel and black-footed ferret in Kansas. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 56:107. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. B. Loomis, P. H. Krutzsch, and O. L. Webb 1952.

Many of our continent's native wildlife species, including black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs, and burrowing owls, depended on massive herds of grazing bison to shape grasslands and create habitat. As commercial hunting and U.S.

Once widespread in the grasslands and western basins of North America, by 1987 Black-footed Ferrets were thought to be extinct in the wild.

The decline in prairie dogs in turn has had a devastating effect on the North American black-footed ferret, which lives in prairie dog burrows and preys almost entirely on these animals.

The eyes of the black-footed ferret are surrounded by a dark mask outlined in white, while the rest of the ferret is relatively dark with a light undercoat. Some ferrets are completely white.

Black-footed Ferret - Mustela nigripes Wolverine - Gulo gulo American Badger - Taxidea taxus Northern River Otter - Lontra canadensis Common Raccoon - Procyon lotor Black Bear - Ursus americanus Grizzly Bear - Ursus arctos Coyote - Canis latrans ...

One member of the weasel family, the black-footed ferret, deserves special mention. They are perhaps the rarest mammals in North America, depending primarily upon prairie dogs for food.

Species Mustela nigripes (black-footed ferret) Species Mustela nivalis (least weasel) Species Mustela nudipes (Malayan weasel) ...

Relatives in same Genus Ermine (M. erminea) Black-footed Ferret (M. nigripes) Least Weasel (M. nivalis) American Mink (M. vison) ...

Note: Today's domesticated ferret is NOT the wild North American Black-Footed Ferret which is now nearly extinct! ...

They keep the grasslands from changing to pasture lands, they provide homes for other animals, like burrowing owls with their abandoned burrows, and they are an important food source for many animals, like the black-footed ferret.

The severe reduction of the prairie dog population by ranchers is probably partially responsible for the rarity of the black-footed ferret, although it was apparently not numerous when the West was first settled by Europeans.

the American chestnut tree from North American hardwood forests. Predator and pest control also have adverse effects. Excessive control of prairie dogs, for example, nearly eliminated one of their natural predators, the black-footed ferret.

See also: Ferret, Prairie Dog, Coyote, Wolf, Lion