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The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat [4] or prairie dog hunter, [5] is a species of mustelid native to central North America. The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary ...
This subspecies evolved into modern black-footed ferrets. [10] Most members eat rodents. 90% of the black-footed ferret's diet is made up of prairie dogs, followed by other small rodents and lagomorphs. The European polecat primarily feeds on mouse-like rodents, followed by amphibians and birds.
The black-footed ferret is entirely dependent on another keystone species, the prairie dog. A family of four ferrets eats 250 prairie dogs in a year; this requires a stable population of prairie dogs from an area of some 500 acres (2.0 km 2).
The black-footed ferret species was thought to be extinct in 1981, but was later rediscovered and has now been given a second chance thanks to conservation efforts. The aim is to work towards ...
The animal was a black-footed ferret, once abundant in the American West with a range that stretched into Canada and Mexico, but by the 1980s the species was believed to have been wiped out.
Skeleton of a black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) with a prairie dog skeleton, articulated to show the predator-prey relationship between them. ( Museum of Osteology ) As a result, prairie dog habitat has been affected by direct removal by farmers, as well as the more obvious encroachment of urban development, which has greatly reduced their ...
The two baby black-footed ferrets, called kits, could reintroduce completely lost DNA to the species, scientists said. Send in the clones: 2 black-footed ferret babies born to cloned mom for the ...
Black-footed ferret. M. nigripes (Audubon, 1851) Three small areas in central United States: Size: 50–53 cm (20–21 in) long, plus 11–13 cm (4–5 in) tail [85] Habitat: Shrubland and grassland [86] Diet: Primarily eats prairie dogs [86] EN 200 [86] Egyptian weasel. M. subpalmata Hemprich, 1833: Nile river delta in Egypt