Black Footed Ferret Mustela nigripes

1. Black Footed FerretMustela nigripes Grant Cohen 3rd hour

2. What does a Black Footed Ferret look like? • Black Footed Ferrets have black masks on their face and some ferrets, who are tan; have black markings on their feet, legs and the tip of their tail. • These animals have a long, skinny body that is helpful for crawling through tunnels and to catch prey. • They are 6 inches in height, 18-24 inches in length, weigh from 1.5-2.5 pounds, and they have a lifespan of 3-4 years.

3. Where is the Black Footed Ferret located in Kansas?

4. Which counties is the Black Footed Ferret located? • Some of the Northwestern Kansas Counties that the Black Footed Ferret is located include: Cheyenne, Gove, Graham, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, Trego and Wallace.

5. What is the known population of Black Footed Ferrets in Kansas? • The only known population in Kansas is in Logan County and it was known to have less than 30 breeding adults.

6. What is the Black Footed Ferret’s habitat? • Their habitat is prairie dog burrows. They manage to survive and live here because they get their food from prairie dogs. Although, the poisoning of prairie dogs ruined the Ferret’s habitat in Kansas. • Some Ferret’s live in prairie grasslands as well.

7. What does the Black Footed Ferret eat and what eats it? • The Black Footed Ferret’s diet is mostly eating prairie dogs. • If it can’t find any prairie dogs, then it will eat mice, gophers and ground squirrels. It may also eat birds, eggs and small reptiles • Their predators are mammals such as golden eagles, owls and coyotes.

8. When and why did the Black Footed Ferret get put on the endangered species list • As of 1991, this mammal was on the endangered species list in Kansas and many other states. • The ferret got put on the endangered species list because as of 1979, the ferret was called extinct. In 1981, they were discovered in Wyoming and 129 ferrets was the population in 1984. Between 1985-1987, 24 ferrets were captured in order to save the population. In order to put a stop to decreasing this population, U.S made an officially law in 1991 that this mammal was to be an endangered species.

9. Why was the Black Footed Ferret put on the endangered species list? • The reasoning for this is because of the decrease in population and if it is endangered, than the population will continue to grow. • The habitat was also a factor. There were fewer prairie dogs to feed off of. So most of the ferrets moved to grasslands in order to survive.

10. What is the Biotic Potential for the Black Footed Ferret? • Black Footed Ferrets tend to live 3-4 years, but some ferrets can live up to 8-9 years. • Ferrets usually mate in March and April and have kids around October. Mother ferret’s usually have 3-4 kids, but some mothers can have 6 at a time.

11. Is there a recovery plan for the Black Footed Ferret? • Yes. It includes many conclusions for the Black Footed Ferrets. • Some of these would include: Preventing disease, studying different diseases, getting vaccinations, dividing the population and identify and monitor different habitats for these species.