Black-footed Ferret - Jason Wahlund

            Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)

                                                                             

Ecology and Description:

The Black-footed Ferret (BFF) is a medium sized member of the weasel family. Weighing in at just 1.4 to 2.5 pounds and measuring 19 to 24 inches in length It is the only native Ferret species in the Americas. They are slender, nocturnal carnivores, that have adapted strong jaws and teeth for eating meat. Their heightened sense of smell allows them to hunt for prey underground. Black-footed Ferrets are highly specialized predators whose diet consists almost entirely of prairie dog. Prairie dog’s also supply the BFF with proper shelter and breeding grounds from their leftover burrows. Their kits are born blind and defenseless meaning they must stay underground for nearly two months. Mothers eventually teach them to hunt on their own by taking them on short expeditions into prairie dog territory. 

Geographic and Population Changes:

The historical range of the Black-footed Ferret consisted of the Great Plains, mountain basins, and the grasslands of west-central North America. Their range replicates the black-tailed prairie dog, Gunnison’s prairie dog, and white-tailed prairie dog. This close association was the reason for their rapid decline. From the late 19^th century to the mid-1960s prairie dog populations were dramatically reduced by the transformation of grasslands to croplands, poisoning, and disease. By the end of the 1960s prairie dog habitat went from 100 million acres to just 1.4 million in the U.S.  This problem was so prevalent that the BFF was thought to be extinct in 1979. It wasn’t until a remaining population of 18 individuals were found in Wyoming in the early 1980s that the BFF was able to rebound through captive breeding efforts. Today all Black-footed Ferrets are either in captivity or at managed reintroduction sites. There are approximately 300 Black-footed Ferrets in zoos and breeding facilities and only 500 at 20 reintroduced active sites.

  

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service map of active, immediate, and intermediate reintroduction sites along with prairie dog habitats

Listing Date and Type of Listing:

Black-footed Ferrets have been identified as an endangered species across their range since March 11, 1967 and were “grandfathered” into the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) assigned the BFF a recovery priority level of 2C which means the ferret faces a high degree of threat with high potential for recovery. In 2014 the USFWS conducted a five-year review of the species which concluded that the BFF continues to justify federal endangered status.

Cause of Listing and Main Threats to Continued Existence:

The main threat for the existence of the Black-footed Ferret is deficient management and conservation of prairie dogs. Making up over 90% of their diet, prairie dogs are the only animal helping sustain the species. Grasslands in the Great Plains turned into agricultural land substantially reducing prairie dog populations between the late 1800’s until the early 1960’s. Toxins also played a huge role in the specie’s decline. It wasn’t until Executive Order 11613 which prohibited the use of specific toxicants that could cause secondary poisoning on Federal Land. Adding to the problem was canine distemper and sylvatic plague. Canine distemper is as systematic disease with a fatality rate in unvaccinated ferrets of nearly 100%. Sylvatic plague infections are spread through fleas that acquire the bacterium from an infected animal. Both the prairie dog and BFF are highly susceptible to these diseases. Vaccines have dramatically helped ferrets combat these illnesses but do not pose a long-term solution for them in the wild.

Recovery Plan:

The latest Black-footed Ferret recovery plan is a revision of the 1988 plan created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The goal of the plan has remained the same: “To recover the black-footed ferret such that it no longer meets the ESA’s definition of endangered or threatened and can be removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.” The USFWS attempts to reach this goal by establishing a series of active sites where suitable habitat and decreased threats allow populations to rise. Although a vast majority of habitat has been reduced if the remaining quality of land is maintained and well managed then the BFF will be more likely to recover. Completing these tasks starts with successful captive breeding. The USFWS plans to produce at least 280 adult ferrets at three different facilities in the Great Plains, oversee the current wild population grow to 1500 breeding adults by 2023, and to maintain approximately 250,000 acres of prairie dog habitat near reintroduction sites. If this plan is executed correctly there could be as many as 3000 adult ferrets in the wild by 2043.

What Can You Do:

At the individual level humans can play a major role to help save the Black-footed Ferret. If you reside in the Great Plains let friends and family know why we should respect and preserve BFF and prairie dog habitat. Defenders of Wildlife is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect all native plants and animals from extinction like the BFF. You can donate by following the link to their website posted below and buying a symbolic stuffed animal to help support their cause. Talking to politicians, letting them be aware of the situation and why they should donate to such organizations to protect native animals is essential. The health of the BFF represents the health of the plains. How much of the environment we are willing to sacrifice for human development? This is a question everyone should be asking their government officials and what their plans are to help protect our natural ecosystems. 

Defenders of Wildlife link:

https://secure.defenders.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=wagc_homepage#/gifts








References:

Belant, J., Biggins, D., Garelle, D., Griebel, R.G. & Hughes, J.P. 2015. Mustela nigripes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T14020A45200314.

http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T14020A45200314.en.

“Canine Distemper in Ferrets.” Mustela Nigripes (Black-Footed Ferret),

www.iucnredlist.org/details/14020/0.

Lockhart, Mike. “Black-Footed Ferret.” Black-Footed Ferret,                           

https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/factsheets/Black-Footed-Ferret.pdf

Parker, Laura. “Saving Endangered Ferrets… With Peanut Butter.” National Geographic, 19 July 2016, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/prairie-dogs-ferrets-animals-science-vaccines/.

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.

Credit for Images in Chronological Order:

1.
https://www.daveshowalter.com/photo/black-footed-ferret/

2.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-09-23/black-footed-ferret-making-comeback-great-plains

3. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-feeding-prairie-dogs-peanut-butter-could-help-stop-plague-and-save-ferrets-180955937/

4. https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/20131108%20BFF%202nd%20Rev.%20Final%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf

5. https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/20131108%20BFF%202nd%20Rev.%20Final%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf

6. https://prime.peta.org/2017/05/prairie-dog-say-might-think

7. https://zooamerica.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/30th-anniversary-of-the-rediscovery-of-black-footed-ferrets/

8. https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/20131108%20BFF%202nd%20Rev.%20Final%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf