Black-footed ferretIn 1981, the rediscovery of the black-footed ferret (previously thought extinct in 1979), was reported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One had been captured in Wyoming and fitted with a radio transmitter. Historically it was a predator of prairie dogs on North America's arid, shortgrass prairies. Farming's destruction of the habitat and wide-scale poisoning to eradicate prairie dogs as pests, resulted in the disappearance of their specialized predator, the ferret. It now survives in a program of captive breeding and reintroduction sites where prairie dog towns are also protected. About 100 acres of a prairie dog colonyare needed to support one ferret family (a female and her young). Predators such as owls, eagles, hawks, coyotes, badgers, foxes, and bobcats are the main cause of death for wild ferrets.« |
