Saving the BFF: Black-footed Ferret (Vo, H)

11 November 2017

Saving the BFF: Black-footed Ferret
By Heather Vo


The What?
BFF Description and Ecology

Black-footed Ferret ("Black-footed Ferret")

This little guy is a black-footed ferret, or Mustela nigripes if you prefer, and the only ferret species native to the Americas (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 14). Adults are 19-24 inches and weigh about 1.4-2.5 pounds, about the weight of a can of vegetables (15). Their natural habitat is grasslands where they use prairie dogs as a source of food and prairie dog burrows as their shelter (5). Kits – baby BFFs – are dependent on their mothers for a few months then disperse in the fall to find their own territory (15). Besides mating and maternity, BFFs are solitary creatures, which means each ferret needs a large amount of territory for itself (15).

Where are They?
Geography and Population Changes

Historic Range of BFFs, Corresponding Prairie Dog Species, and Reintroduction Sites (19)

Historically, BFFs were found throughout the Great Plains, mountain basins, and grasslands of North America wherever prairie dogs – indicated with the different colors – occurred (19). Currently, all BFF populations are the result of reintroduction sites, shown by the numbers above that correspond to these sites in chronological order (19). In 1979, BFFs were actually thought to be extinct, until a remnant population was found in Wyoming in 1981 (“History of the Black-footed Ferret”). All wild ferrets were captured, and 15 of the 18 captured are the ancestors of all known populations today (“History”). There are about 418 adult ferrets in the wild today, and the rest are in breeding captivity populations (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5).

Are They Endangered?

Listing Date and Type of Listing

Yes! BFFs are listed as a 2C endangered species, meaning they are at a high degree of threat but there is also a high recovery potential (13). BFFs were first listed as endangered in 1967, listed again in 1970, and “grandfathered” into the Endangered Species Act in 1973 (13).

What Happened?

Cause of Listing and Main Threats

BFFs rely heavily on prairie dogs for food and shelter, but from the 1800s to the 1960s, prairie dog numbers dwindled due to habitat destruction, poison, and plague (5). Much of the Northern Plains was converted into agricultural land, and to get rid of the prairie dog “pests” (in the eyes of ranchers), zinc phosphide poisoning was used (50). More recently, sylvatic plague, the same bacterium that caused black plague in humans, has been devastating both prairie dog and BFF populations (28). Current main threats are decreasing prairie dog populations and sylvatic plague.

What's Being Done to Help?

Recovery Plan Summary

Projected BFF Population with Maintained Conservation Trends (75)

The BFF Recovery Plan claims BFFs can be downlisted to threatened status by 2023 and delisted completely by 2043 if current conservation trends continue (59). With an aggressive conservation push, BFFs could be delisted by 2023 (59). The Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (BFFRIT) will focus on gathering as many partners as possible to recover BFFs by establishing populations where the proper habitat exists without many threats (5). The two main objectives of the recovery plan are to improve management of prairie dogs and protect against sylvatic plague.

BFF Kits in a Captive Breeding Facility ("Record")

By using captive breeding facilities to give the BFFs their best shot at reproduction, populations can increase with the release of new kits to reintroduction sites. To combat recreational shooting of prairie dogs, private land owners are encouraged to charge a fee, which encourages preservation of colonies because these landowners will want to continue to reap the benefits of the fees in the future. To combat sylvatic plague, a vaccine has been produced and will be administered to as many BFFs at the reintroduction sites as possible (33). To combat poisoning, the EPA must be contacted to outlaw the use of these poisons on lands adjacent to reintroduction sites. Finally, more reintroduction sites need to be established so BFFs can reign over their historical territories.

What Can I Do?

Ideas and Resources on How to Help

You can donate to the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center! This helps research and conservation into keeping the little guys alive and popping out of prairie dog burrows. The World Wildlife Fund offers an adopt a ferret program, and the funds also go to conserving your BFF! One of the largest ways to help, however, is to raise awareness. Tell your friends. Tell them to tell their friends! Make it a hot topic and you’ll inspire dozens, maybe hundreds, of people to save the only ferret endemic to the Americas. Write to your legislators to let them know about this little critter who needs our help. Go! Inspire the world!

Other Resources

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery Ferret Cam!

Black-footed Ferret Recovery Plan

National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center

Defenders of Wildlife: Black-footed Ferret Page

WWF: Black-footed Ferret Page

Make a Donation to the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center

Adopt a BFF through WWF

Works Cited

“Black-Footed Ferret: Mustela Nigripes.” Thinglink.com, ThingLink, 2014, www.thinglink.com/scene/636952354192621568.

“History of the Black-Footed Ferret.” Blackfootedferret.org, National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center, blackfootedferret.org/.

“Record Broken for Black-Footed Ferrets.” ZooBorns, ZooBorns, 3 Aug. 2010, www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2010/08/record-broken-for-blackfooted-ferrets.html.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2013. Recovery plan for the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado. 157 pp.