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Black-footed Ferret
Photograph by
Joel Sartore
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On alert for predators, North America’s only native ferret is at risk from more than just the bobcat, coyote, fox, golden eagle, great horned owl, and prairie falcon. It is now considered one of the continent’s most endangered animals. Ferrets follow prairie dogs, their food of choice. So when prairie dogs suffer widespread poisoning or lose habitat to farmland and development, ferrets feel the effects. To give black-footed ferrets a chance, researchers believe 1,500 juvenile animals must be established in ten or more population groups by 2010. And that’s just to downgrade them to threatened.
Click here for a ferret multimedia show, courtesy Arizona Game and Fish Department.
RealPlayer Windows Media
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Scientific name:
Mustela nigripes
Family:
Mustelidae
Group/Class:
Mammal
Historic range:
Western United States, western Canada
Current status:
Endangered
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Population to which status applies:
entire range
Date first listed:
March 11, 1967
Current range:
Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming (presumed to have been completely wiped out in other range states and Canada)
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