The Black-Footed Ferret Recovery

The black-footed ferret is a small, masked animal that lives on the American prairies. It was once thought to be completely extinct. In 1981, a dog named Shep brought a dead ferret home, and scientists found a small group of survivors. A breeding program has been working to save them ever since.

Prairie Dog Connection

Black-footed ferrets depend almost entirely on prairie dogs for food and shelter. They live in prairie dog burrows and hunt prairie dogs at night. When people poisoned prairie dogs to protect crops, the ferrets lost their food supply. Without prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets could not survive.

Back from the Brink

After the small group was found in Wyoming, scientists captured the last 18 wild ferrets and began breeding them. The program has been a success, and hundreds of ferrets have been released back into the wild. Scientists even used cloning to help add variety to the ferret population. They are still one of the rarest mammals in North America.

Fun Facts

• Black-footed ferrets are the only ferret species native to North America.
• A single black-footed ferret can eat about 100 prairie dogs in one year!
• In 2020, scientists cloned a black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann from cells saved 30 years earlier.

Did You Know?

The black-footed ferret's mask-like face markings may help reduce glare, just like the eye black that football players wear!