Black-footed Ferret | Species

Species
Black-footed Ferret

Species
Black-footed Ferret

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Overview
Why They Matter
Threats
What WWF is Doing
How You Can Help
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Overview

Status
Endangered
Population
Approximately 1,000 in the wild
Scientific Name
Mustela nigripes
Weight
1.5-2.5 pounds
Length
18 -24 inches
Habitats
Grasslands

Once thought to be globally extinct, black-footed ferrets are making a comeback. For the last thirty years, concerted efforts from many state and federal agencies, zoos, Native American tribes, conservation organizations and private landowners have given black-footed ferrets a second chance for survival. Today, recovery efforts have helped restore the black-footed ferret population to nearly 1,000 animals across North America. Although great strides have been made to recover the black-footed ferret, habitat loss and disease remain key threats to this highly endangered species.

Places
Northern Great Plains
Habitats
Grasslands

Browse Photos & Videos

Managing Grasslands to Protect the Bison's Home

A prescribed burn is part of WWF’s long-term approach to maintaining healthy habitats and human communities in the Northern Great Plains region, supporting native species expansion and reducing encroachment by invasive species.

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Prescribed burn on Northern Great Plains with bison

Why They Matter

Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in North America and are the only ferret species native to the continent. Their recovery in the wild signifies the health of the grassland ecosystem which they depend on to survive.

Threats

Population Approximately 1,000 in the wild
Extinction Risk Endangered
1. EX
  Extinct
  
  No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
2. EW
  Extinct in the Wild
  
  Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population
3. CR
  Critically Endangered
  
  Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild
4. EN
  Endangered
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
5. VU
  Vulnerable
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
6. NT
  Near Threatened
  
  Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future
7. LC
  Least Concern
  
  Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

In Wyoming, WWF works with partners to relocate prairie dogs living on the border between Thunder Basin National Grassland and private lands to a ferret recovery area in Thunder Basin's interior.

Habitat loss, reduced prey populations, and non-native disease threaten the recovery of the black-footed ferret. The ferret is entirely dependent on the presence of prairie dogs and their colonies for food, shelter and raising young. Without ample reintroduction sites and distribution of prairie dogs, full black-footed ferret recovery remains difficult.

What WWF Is Doing

Because local communities have traditionally considered prairie dogs to be pests, conflicts between the two have often resulted in people poisoning these animals. Kristy Bly, WWF's wildlife biologist (featured right), helps solve this conflict by using a non-lethal method of trapping and relocatingprairie dogs.

Protecting Black-Footed Ferrets

WWF leads recovery efforts by working alongside other conservation organizations, land management agencies, tribes and landowners to build the conditions necessary to see black-footed ferrets reach sustainable levels. WWF and partners maintain existing ferret sites, establish new reintroduction sites by relocating prairie dogs to increase ferret habitat, mitigate sylvatic plague on prairie dog colonies and participate in oral vaccine research to better protect prairie dogs from sylvatic plague.

Restoring Black-Footed Ferret Populations

WWF works to restore populations of ferrets and their prey, prairie dogs, in seven sites throughout the Northern Great Plains. In Wyoming, we work to relocate prairie dogs living on the border between Thunder Basin National Grassland and private lands to a ferret recovery area in Thunder Basin's interior. Because local communities have traditionally considered prairie dogs to be pests, conflicts between the two have often resulted in people poisoning these animals. This conflict is solved by using a non-lethal method of trapping and relocating prairie dogs. These relocations provide a solution that not only keeps prairie dogs alive, but also creates and restores habitat for black-footed ferret recovery.

The biggest threats to black-footed ferret recovery are sylvatic plague, a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas, and lack of suitable reintroduction sites. WWF dusts prairie dogs with an insecticide as a preventative measure against the fleas that carry the plague. By relocating nearly 900 prairie dogs, WWF has helped establish approximately 5,600 acres of prairie dog colonies. This is nearly half the area needed to support a self-sustaining population of black-footed ferrets.

Experts

Matthew Lewis Senior Program Officer, African Species, Species Conservation Program

How You Can Help

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