Black Footed Ferret

Black Footed Ferret by Zoe, Anna, Dhea, and Kota. Felt and fabric applique with hand lettering. Mr Harada's 2013 class
Black Footed Ferret by Zoe D, Anna F, Dhea A, and Kota O.  Ms Harada’s 6th grade class, Thomas Starr King Middle School, 2013.  Felt and fabric applique with hand lettering.

Black Footed Ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are the only ferret native to North America. Their primary source of food and shelter is the prairie dog, which accounts for 90% of their diet.

As settlers killed off prairie dogs and destroyed their tunnels, the Black Footed Ferret population also declined. By the mid 1900 they were thought to be extinct. But a small population was found alive in Wyoming in the 1980’s; those18 individuals were placed in a captive breeding program. Today, there are approximately 750 living in the wild.

To learn more about Black Footed Ferrets go to: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/black-footed-ferret/

For a Black Footed Ferret fact sheet go to:

http://www.defenders.org/black-footed-ferret/basic-facts

For information on threats to the Black Footed Ferret go to:  http://www.defenders.org/black-footed-ferret/threats

The Black Footed Ferret Society at:

http://www.blackfootedferret.org/