Ferret is a small mammal with a long, slim body and short legs. Ferrets are weasels. If frightened, these animals can discharge a strong-smelling fluid from scent glands under their tails.
People often keep the domestic ferret as a pet. It was originally bred in ancient times to hunt rats and rabbits, but it is seldom used for hunting today. The domestic ferret is a descendant of the European polecat, which was once found throughout Europe. The terms ferret and polecat are often used interchangeably. See Polecat.
Male domestic ferrets grow up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) long, including the tail. Females are smaller. Domestic ferrets vary in color from nearly white to nearly black. Most have creamy-colored fur with dark hair tips, feet, and tail, and a “mask” of dark fur around the eyes. Some owners have the scent glands of pet ferrets removed, but the animals still give off a musky odor from other skin glands.
The black-footed ferret is native to western North America. It resembles the domestic ferret, but it is slightly smaller. Black-footed ferrets have mostly dull yellow fur that is slightly darker on the back. They also have black feet, a black tail tip, and black fur around the eyes.
In the past, black-footed ferrets lived throughout much of the Great Plains. They depended on prairie dogs for food and inhabited underground burrows made by prairie dogs. Since the late 1800’s, however, ranchers have eliminated prairie dogs from much of the Great Plains because they consider the animals pests. The black-footed ferret has become rare as a result of this decrease in the number of prairie dogs. Disease and the loss of rangeland to agriculture have also reduced its numbers. The ferrets are classified as endangered in the United States.
Scientists once thought black-footed ferrets were extinct. In 1981, however, ranchers in Wyoming discovered a population of more than 125 black-footed ferrets. Over the next several years, many of these animals died of a disease called distemper. Because scientists were concerned that all the wild ferrets would die from the disease, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured the remaining animals. Since then, scientists have successfully bred the ferrets in captivity. In 1991, they began releasing these ferrets into western grasslands that contained prairie dog populations. The ferrets are again reproducing in the wild.
