U.S. U.S.Fish Fish& Wildlife & Wildlife Service Service Black-footed Ferret Mustela nigripes

Black-footed ferret peeks out of a burrow / Mike Lockhart, USFWS

Species Description Specialization The black-footed ferret (BFF) (Mustela Black-footed ferrets are highly nigripes) is a medium-sized mustelid (a specialized predators that depend upon member of the weasel family), typically prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for weighing 1.4 to 2.5 pounds and survival. Prairie dogs make up more measuring 19 to 24 inches in total than 90% of the BFF’s diet. Prairie dog length, including a 5 to 6 inch tail. It is a burrows provide BFFs with suitable slender, wiry, animal with black feet, a dens to raise their young as well as black face mask, and a black-tipped tail. escape predators and harsh weather. Black-footed ferret in preconditioning Its short, sleek fur is a beige-buff color, In the past, this dependence was a good pens / USFWS lighter on the belly and nearly white on survival strategy because prairie dogs Reproduction the forehead, muzzle, and throat. were plentiful. However, in the modern The mating season for BFFs is Black-footed ferrets have short legs era, as human activities and disease March-April. Gestation time is 41 to with large front paws, and claws decimated prairie dog populations, this 43 days, and kits are born May developed for digging. The BFF’s large unique survival strategy proved through June. Litter sizes are ears and eyes suggest it has acute detrimental to BFF survival. typically three to five kits. Kits are hearing and sight, but smell may be its born blind and helpless, staying below most important sense for hunting prey Habitat & Range ground until they are about two underground in the dark. Its large skull Black-footed ferrets depend exclusively months old. At this age BFF mothers and strong jaw and teeth are adapted on prairie dog burrows for shelter. move their litters to various burrows for eating meat. Historically, BFF habitat coincided within their home range and begin to with habitats of black-tailed prairie dog take them on hunting forays. At (C. ludovicianus), Gunnison’s prairie approximately 90 days of age, kits dog (C. gunnisoni), and white-tailed reach 90% of their adult size, and are prairie dog (C. leucurus). The BFF is adept at killing prairie dogs. the only ferret species native to the Americas. Its historical range spanned much of western North America’s intermountain and prairie grasslands, extending from Canada to Mexico. BFFs have been reintroduced in the wild at 29 sites across 8 states, Canada, Black-footed ferret in the wild and Mexico. Learning to hunt a prairie dog Kimberly Fraser, USFWS Mike Lockhart, USFWS

Region 6 Mountain-Prairie Region non-governmental agencies working together in a recovery team effort to conserve this native species. Due to these partnerships, BFF recovery goals are within reach.

Information To learn more about the BFF and conservation efforts on behalf of the species please contact: The National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center at (970) 897-2730.

Black-footed ferret newborn kit / Kimberly Fraser, USFWS Or visit the following sites: Black-footed Ferret Recovery Threats Program: www.blackfootedferret.org Despite significant recovery successes, BFF’s status. This review found that the BFF remains one of the most this species continues to warrant National Black-footed Ferret endangered mammals in North federal endangered status. Conservation Center Facebook Page: America. The primary reasons the www.facebook.com/FerretCenter/ species remains at risk are the same Population Numbers and that nearly caused the animal’s Recovery Efforts The Service’s ECOS page: http://ecos. extinction: disease, loss of habitat, and Black-footed ferrets once numbered in fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/ related declines in prey. Conversion of the tens of thousands, but due to a speciesProfile.action?spcode=A004 native grasslands to agricultural land, combination of human-induced threats, widespread prairie dog eradication they were believed to be extinct twice programs, and fatal, non-native in the 20th century. In 1981, a small diseases, such as plague, have reduced population of the species was BFF populations to less than 2% of rediscovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming. their original range. Much of the However, by 1986, due to disease, remaining habitat is now fragmented, only eighteen individuals were known with prairie dog towns separated by to exist in this isolated wild population. expanses of agricultural land and other Scientists captured these remaining human developments. BFFs and they became the foundation for a successful captive breeding Legal Status Under the and reintroduction program that Endangered Species Act continues today. Black-footed ferret release into the wild Since March 11, 1967, BFFs have been USFWS listed as endangered across their entire This Service-led BFF program has U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service range, with the exception of several annually released BFFs into the wild at Mountain-Prairie Region 6 reintroduced populations designated as a number of different reintroduction PO Box 25486 experimental. In 2014, the U.S. Fish sites across the West. Currently, there Denver Federal Center and Wildlife Service (Service) are approximately 280 BFFs living at Denver, Colorado 80225 completed a five-year review of the captive breeding facilities. These 308 / 382 6468 recovery efforts are managed by the Service’s National Black-Footed For State relay service TTY / Voice: 711 Ferret Conservation Center in northern Colorado and partners in U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service multiple states. http://www.fws.gov

Recovery Partners November 2017 Despite the many threats facing BFFs, wildlife managers believe recovery of the species is attainable. There are Black-footed ferret on the more than 50 federal, state, tribal and Soapstone Prairie / Bruce Gill

Region 6 Mountain-Prairie Region