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 endangered black-footed ferret is a member of the weasel family.
Black-Footed Ferret - Mustela nigripes
By Laura Klappenbach, About.com Guide
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Black-footed Ferret
Relatives in same Genus
Ermine (M. erminea)
Long-tailed Weasel (M. frenata)
Least Weasel (M. nivalis)
American Mink (M. vison) ...
Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)
No photo of the Black-footed Ferret available.
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.
Black-footed Ferret
: Family Mustelidae : Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman) ...
Black-Footed Ferret Range
Fast Facts
Type: Mammal Diet: Carnivore Average life span in captivity: 12 years Size: Head and body, 15 to 20 in (38 to 50 cm); Tail, 4.
Black-footed Ferret Behaviour
No observations regarding Black-footed Ferret behavior have been submitted to the database yet.
Interesting Facts about Black-footed Ferrets ...
Black-footed ferrets have been known to live up to 12 years in captivity.
Black-Footed Ferrets: Life Behind the Mask
Ferret Them Out
Watch a Video About Saving Ferrets ...
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.
Male black-footed ferrets are about 10% larger than females, and can reach up to 58 cm (23 in.) long, including the tail.
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.
The Black-Footed Ferret
A Masterwork of Stealth and Killing Efficiency
by Jay W. Sharp ...
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 Ferret
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Click to enlarge. (108 kb) ...
Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)
Once classified as Extinct in the Wild, the black-footed ferret is one of the world's rarest mammals and the only ferret native to North... More 13 Images 12 Videos ...
Black-footed ferrets bred at Toronto Zoo and extirpated on Canadian prairies, returned to homeland in Saskatchewan's Grasslands National Park.
BFF conservation moves into critical Phase 2 with monitoring in the wild.
Black-footed ferrets rely primarily on prairie dogs for food. However, they sometimes eat mice, ground squirrels, and other small animals.
Black-footed ferrets are susceptible to numerous diseases. They are fatally susceptible to canine distemper (Morbilivirus) [8,30,37], introduced by striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), common raccoons (Procyon lotor), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), ...
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.
Most of the prairie dog's natural predators have been reduced, and others, like the rattlesnake and black-footed ferret, do not exist at Curecanti. As prairie dog populations increase they are more susceptible to disease.
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.
Wild Ancestors: woods & hilly thickets - native in Europe - Asia & North Africa
- black-footed ferret only found in US
status
domestic ferret are common - a relative of the domestic ferret, the black-footed ferret,
is endangered ...
2)One of the most successful examples of artificial insemination as a conservation management tool has been the production and genetic management of over 87 black-footed ferrets and selected re-introduction into their previous home range (Howard et ...
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.
Several other small, elongated carnivorous mammals belonging to the family Mustelidae (weasels) also have the word "ferret" in their common names, including an endangered species, the Black-footed Ferret.
Their empty burrows are used by the Burrowing Owl, the Texas Horned Lizard, the Black-footed Ferret and rabbits and hares. They also cut down large weeds and brush so they can see better. This keeps the prairies from getting overgrown with trees.
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.
 See also: Ferret, Prairie Dog, Coyote, Wolf, Lion
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