The main threat of black footed ferrets were habitat loss, exotic diseases and food loss.
Because the black footed ferrets can only live in large area of grassland where there’s a lot of prairie dogs, when the government of many countries decided that the black footed ferrets’ underground homes were destructive to fields, they plowed most of the shrub-land and grassland and this nearly wiped out the whole entire black footed ferrets population. Even worse for the ferrets, many prairie dog colonies left in the remaining grassland were wiped out by exotic disease, leaving the black footed ferrets desperate for food and habitat.
An estimated 130 ferrets population was found in 1984. Unfortunately, an outbreak of plague reduced prairie dog numbers in the area, and later an outbreak of canine distemper nearly killed all the ferrets. In 1987, only 18 were left in Wyoming and captured in the wild to start a captive breeding program.
Prairie dog colonies have been reduced to less than 5% of the area it had once been. Human have been very hostile to the prairie dogs because they think the prairie dogs are vermin. The prairie dogs were lost to shooting and poisoning by those wished them dead. Without a sustainable population of their main food source, the black footed ferrets cannot survive on their own in the wild.
The black footed ferrets were also largely decreased because of diseases such as sylvatic plague, canine distemper, and human influenza. And because of ranching that took place in the prairies in the 1800’, the prairie dogs were exterminated, poisoned and eradicated heavily for many years by the government and ranchers
They do have natural enemies such as coyotes, great-horned owls, golden eagles, prairie falcons, badgers, bobcats and foxes.
Today, nearly 1500 of one of the world’s rarest mammals has been reintroduced to the wild thanks to the collaboration of different programs. 17 sites in the United States, one in Mexico and one in Canada.
Because the black footed ferrets can only live in large area of grassland where there’s a lot of prairie dogs, when the government of many countries decided that the black footed ferrets’ underground homes were destructive to fields, they plowed most of the shrub-land and grassland and this nearly wiped out the whole entire black footed ferrets population. Even worse for the ferrets, many prairie dog colonies left in the remaining grassland were wiped out by exotic disease, leaving the black footed ferrets desperate for food and habitat.
An estimated 130 ferrets population was found in 1984. Unfortunately, an outbreak of plague reduced prairie dog numbers in the area, and later an outbreak of canine distemper nearly killed all the ferrets. In 1987, only 18 were left in Wyoming and captured in the wild to start a captive breeding program.
Prairie dog colonies have been reduced to less than 5% of the area it had once been. Human have been very hostile to the prairie dogs because they think the prairie dogs are vermin. The prairie dogs were lost to shooting and poisoning by those wished them dead. Without a sustainable population of their main food source, the black footed ferrets cannot survive on their own in the wild.
The black footed ferrets were also largely decreased because of diseases such as sylvatic plague, canine distemper, and human influenza. And because of ranching that took place in the prairies in the 1800’, the prairie dogs were exterminated, poisoned and eradicated heavily for many years by the government and ranchers
They do have natural enemies such as coyotes, great-horned owls, golden eagles, prairie falcons, badgers, bobcats and foxes.
Today, nearly 1500 of one of the world’s rarest mammals has been reintroduced to the wild thanks to the collaboration of different programs. 17 sites in the United States, one in Mexico and one in Canada.