Laserfiche WebLink
Species Profile for Black-Footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) <br />Species Profile <br />Environmental Conservation Online System <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />Black-Footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) <br />Kingdom: Animalia Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Mustelidae <br />Listing Status: Endangered and Experimental Population, Non-Essential <br />Quick links: Federal Register Action Plans Recovery Critical Habitat <br />Conservation Plans Petitions Life History Other Resources <br />General Information <br />The black-footed ferret is 18 to 24 inches long, including a 5 to 6 inch tail. It weighs only one-and-a-half to two-and-a- <br />half pounds, with males slightly larger than females. The black-footed ferret is well adapted to its prairie environment. <br />Its color and markings blend so well with grassland soils and plants, that it is hard to detect until it moves. It is a <br />slender, wiry animal with a black face mask, black feet, and a black-tipped tail. The rest of its short, sleek fur is a <br />yellow-buff color, lighter on the belly and nearly white on the forehead, muzzle, and throat. It has short legs with large <br />front paws and claws developed for digging. The ferret's large ears and eyes suggest it has acute hearing and sight, <br />but smell is probably its most important sense for hunting prey underground in the dark. <br />Population detail <br />The FWS is currently monitoring the following populations of the Black-Footed ferret <br /> <br />81334 <br />-\W e7%T µ - Pm e l4 -14 <br />http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=AO04 4/12/2011 <br />Map of §pecies occurrence