The wild black footed ferret is not the same as a domestic ferret that are kept as pets. So what are the differences?
Domestic Ferrets (Mustela furo) were once bred to hunt rabbits and rats and are related to the European polecat. A domestic male can be 25 inches long or smaller. They are usually cream in color, with dark tips, feet and tail and a mask around the eyes. Generally breeders will remove their scent glands, but they will still secrete an odor from glands in their skin.
A Black Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) live in western part of North America and are smaller than the domestic ferret. They were found along the Great Plains where they hunt prairie dogs to take over their burrows. In the late 1800s when prairie dogs were being eradicated as pets by ranchers, the lost of food source made the Black Footed Ferret very rare and very endangered.
There was a time when experts thought that the precious Black Footed Ferret was extinct, that was until 1981 when approximately 125 ferrets were find alive Wyoming. Unfortunately, many of these animals were infected by distemper and those that survived were moved to captivity and have been bred ever since. To continue the specials in 1991 captive breed Black Footed Ferrets were released into the wild.
We’ll do a later post pointing out different societies that are helping keep the wild ferrets alive and well.
