The black-footed ferret is a small North American predator of the weasel family. American black-footed ferrets are also called black-footed ferrets. The name comes from the English "blackfooted ferret". I must say that this animal is one of the most rare mammals North America. IN modern times American black-footed ferrets are unfortunately critically endangered. population American ferrets extremely small. This is due to the human development of those places where the ferrets lived, as well as the fight against prairie dogs, which are the basis of the nutrition of polecats.

The features of the black-footed ferret include a long neck, a very squat, elongated body with very short legs. Its weight is over 1 kg. The black-footed ferret is so similar to the steppe ferret that it is possibly only a subspecies of it.

American black-footed ferrets are nocturnal. These animals have excellent sense of smell, hearing and vision. As already mentioned, American ferrets are extremely dependent on prairie dogs. Ferrets occupy their homes and also feed on these animals. The hole of a prairie dog, which is then occupied by a ferret, can reach a length of up to 300 m.

It should be noted that males lead more active image life than females. However, during cold weather, the activity of ferrets is much reduced, and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe area they survey is also reduced. On snowy days, the American ferret does not leave its shelter at all and feeds exclusively on its own supplies.

American ferrets move in jumps or a slow gallop. In one night, a ferret can walk or gallop up to 10 km and reach speeds of up to 11 km/h. Males move around the area almost 2 times more than females.

The color of the black-footed ferret

American ferrets have white fur at the base. At the ends of the hairline, their fur is somewhat darker. Thus, the overall color of the ferret gives a yellowish brown color. The legs and tip of the tail are black. The American ferret, like its brethren, has a characteristic "black face" mask. This color scheme helps American ferrets to be invisible and hide from danger.

Distribution area and habitat

Black-footed ferrets live in North America. It is worth recalling that now these hori are an endangered species. They are listed in the International Red Book. Basically, these animals live in the prairies (with low and medium height grass cover). In addition, the ferret can climb high into the mountains, up to 3000 m above sea level.

Hunting and the black-footed ferret

Most ferrets can be found in the habitats of prairie dogs. As mentioned earlier, it is prairie dogs that are the main part of the diet of black-footed ferrets. However, American ferrets also prey on rabbits, ground squirrels and birds.

Enemies of the black-footed ferret

The main reason for the extinction of black-footed ferrets is habitat loss. The processing of fields and meadows, as well as a widespread prairie dog eradication program, have significantly reduced the area where American ferrets live. The rest of the habitats given time associated with prairie dog colonies.

The black-footed ferret eats over 100 prairie dogs in about one year. Based on this data, the scientists found that it takes over 250 prairie dogs to support one family of ferrets for a year.

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American or Black-footed ferret

American ferret, or black-footed ferret(Mustela nigripes) is a species of mustelid native to central North America.

The American ferret was first discovered and described in 1851, but due to the decline in the number of prairie dogs throughout the 20th century, the ferret population steadily declined and in 1979 they were declared extinct. Only by the mid-1980s was it possible to discover the last wild population of these animals, which were caught and transported to the territory of the research base for breeding. It is now listed as endangered. International Union nature conservation.

The black-footed ferret is about the size of a mink, and differs from the European ferret in a greater contrast between the dark limbs and the light body; as well as a shorter black tip of the tail. But the difference between the American and the steppe ferret is not so pronounced. The only noticeable difference between these species is the shorter and coarser coat and the larger ears of the "American".

The black-footed ferret has a very long body and a blunt head. The forehead is wide, the muzzle is short, the neck is long. Short and thick paws are covered with hair, fingers are armed with sharp, slightly curved claws. Like many other ferrets, the American ferret wears a black mask around its eyes. The animal's base color is pale yellow, with occasional black-tipped hairs on the forehead and neck, making the color a bit muddy. Body length from 31 to 41 cm, tail length 11 - 15 cm. Males weigh an average of just over 1 kg, females are inferior to them in weight by about 10%.

This species is solitary, except for the breeding season and the period of raising offspring. American ferrets are nocturnal, spending daylight hours in prairie dog burrows. Above ground, they are most active from dusk to midnight, and from 4 am to mid-morning. Terrestrial activity is more active in late summer and early autumn when the young become independent. The climate does not usually limit the activity of the black-footed ferret, but in winter it may remain in the burrow for up to 6 days.

Over 90 percent of the diet consists of prairie dogs (gophers), which are attacked while they sleep in their burrows. But depending on where you live, large insects, mountain waders, horned larks, mountain hares, mice, voles and others small mammals are also eaten.

Female American ferrets have a smaller home range than males. The territory of a male can sometimes include the habitats of several females. An adult female usually occupies the same territory from year to year.

The breeding season runs from February to March. When a male and a female in heat encounter each other, the male courts and sniffs the female genital area for several hours, in contrast to the more brusque and quick behavior seen in male European ferrets.

The female arranges a lair for the birth of offspring in the holes of prairie dogs. Between May and June, blind and helpless puppies are born, and covered with thin white hair. Litter size ranges from 1 to 5 cubs.

The entire process of raising offspring falls entirely on the shoulders of the mother. After 6 weeks, the cubs leave the burrow for the first time, and begin to get acquainted with outside world. The young reach adult weight and become independent a few months after birth, from late August to October. Puberty occurs at one year of age.

Among the endangered mustelid species listed in the Red Book of North America is the American black-footed ferret, which was almost exterminated in Canadian territory and began to restore its quantitative composition since 1980 by artificial breeding.

The appearance of the American black-footed ferret resembles a marten:

• the animal has a body stretched in length by 45 cm on short legs with long neck and a fluffy tail 15 cm long, a small head;
• light color at the very base, the fur darkens towards the tips of the villi,
• the muzzle is decorated with a black mask, which stands out in contrast against a light background, but hides the animal well in its natural habitat,
• in the total mass of cream-yellow coloration, black legs, the abdomen and the tip of the tail are clearly visible.

The weight of the American black-footed ferret does not exceed 1 kg. If you look at the photo of the black-footed ferret, you can see its close resemblance to the steppe representative. Today, thanks to the efforts of scientists, the population of the American ferret has been brought to more than 600 individuals, but the Red Book still does not delete it from its pages.

Lifestyle

You can meet the American ferret only in North America. Grown in artificial conditions animals are released into the wild. The black-footed ferret can live in lowlands and medium height grasses, but is also able to climb up to 3 km above sea level into the mountains.

The American ferret is a nocturnal predator. Endowed by nature with an excellent sense of smell and excellent hearing, ferrets perfectly navigate in the dark and hunt without light. Skillfully using its flexible and thin body, the ferret is able to quickly seep into the holes of rodents, coping with its prey and occupying its home in the near future.

Bred under conditions national parks and zoos, black-footed polecats settle in the US states of Montana, South Dakota, Colorado and Arizona. They also exist in Mexico.

By nature, the black-footed ferret is a loner. He does not seek to join the pack, only when attacked mating season picks up a mate, but does not show much aggression when relatives appear next to him in the inhabited territory.

Nutrition

The main diet for the American black-footed polecat is small-sized animals, including:

• rodents,
• large insects,
• small birds.

Among rodents, ground squirrels or steppe dogs are the main object for prey, which each family of American ferrets is ready to eat up to 250 individuals per calendar year, therefore, colonies of ferrets often settle in the habitats of rodents. For proper nutrition, one animal needs an average of up to 100 steppe dogs per year.

Looking for food american hori able to run up to 10 km per night, developing speeds up to 10-11 km / h. They usually move in leaps and bounds.

Land development by farms and the extermination of mouse-like rodents has become one of the reasons for the significant decline in the population of American black-footed polecats, for which they are the main source of food.

reproduction

For the American black-footed ferret, sexual maturity begins at 12 months of age at medium duration their life is 4 years. Under the condition of living under the supervision of a person in captivity, the American ferret can live up to 9 years.

If a male usually needs about 45 hectares of territory to get food for himself, then a female with offspring needs at least 55 hectares to survive. Very often, the trajectories of males intersect with the ranges of not one, but several females.

At the onset of the mating season, females of the American black-footed polecat actively seek out males.

The beginning of the rut of the American black-footed polecat falls on the spring period, this is March or April. In contrast to the fertility of the steppe ferret, the offspring of the American representative usually has no more than 5-6 cubs, which the female ferret bears for 35-45 days.

Newborn horyats stay with their mother in the hole for about 1.5 months. When offspring appear in summer period the female stays with the cubs in the burrows, and when autumn comes, when the grown ferrets become independent, the family is divided and the animals scatter.

We all know about such an animal as ferret, and we have been starting it for a long time instead of a cat or a dog, but what is american ferret? Where does it live and is it different from other types of ferrets? Let's understand together, starting with the characteristics.

Description of the American Ferret

american ferret, originally from the United States, is already listed in the Red Book, because the predator is endangered, and the Americans protect and protect these creatures with their last strength. body length of the American ferret 31-41 cm, s body weight from 650 gr. up to 1 kg. Tail it is quite fluffy, growing in length 11-15 cm. ferret fur fluffy, hairline is white, but the tips are dark, and for us it gives the impression of a yellow-brown color, which looks very beautiful. american ferret also known as black-footed, and all because his limbs and the tip of his tail are absolutely black, like coal, and, of course, a black mask on his muzzle, as without it. ferret life span 5-6 years old, in captivity 12.

The predator is active at night, it is active and very vigilant. Ferret has an excellent sense of smell, sight and hearing, thus finding food, and the way home at night (they mark the territory from other ferrets, preventing competition, and to find a home by smell). They are solitary animals, excluding the breeding season, but even here the male ferret, having done his business, leaves the female, taking no part in raising the babies.

Already in 1980, the remaining number of ferrets were caught from their habitats in order to artificially grow them and not lose them, but some US states release them into the wild in order to revive the population.

WHAT DOES FEET AND WHERE THE AMERICAN FERREET OFFENDS

What does the American ferret eat?

black-footed ferrets mostly eat prairie dogs, but they also eat ground squirrels, mice and other small rodents. However, onion dogs are the main source of food on which the life of the ferret depends. To feed an adult ferret, he needs 250 of these animals a year, and this is not a little! Not surprisingly, the US authorities have taken care of ferrets, helping them to survive. And on the day American ferret it takes 50-70 grams - and this is not much, but just in order to survive and not die of hunger, of course, a healthy predator needs to eat more.

Habitat of the American Ferret

american ferret representative of America (USA), there they inhabit in the center, south and east near the Rocky Mountains. Also habitat– Mexico (north), Canada (south). By the way, these are the only ferrets whose homeland is North America! But today they can be found in 3 more places: southeastern Wyoming, northwestern Montana, western South Dakota. All these places where the population of these ferrets has been completely restored. They can be found in zoos and breeding sites.

american ferret prefers to live in nature in the steppes and meadows, choosing abandoned burrows, or swarms of their own. Each ferret needs 40-48 hectares of space to search for food, and a female with cubs 55! But males allow several females to cross their territory.

VIDEO: ABOUT FERTILES

IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FERRETS

Order - Carnivora / Suborder - Dog-like / Family - Mustelids / Subfamily - Mustelids

History of study

American ferret, or black-footed ferret (lat. Mustela nigripes) is a small North American predator, close relative Russian steppe ferret and other members of the weasel family. By 1937, the black-footed ferret was completely exterminated in Canada, and since 1967 it has been included in the Red Book of North America as an endangered species. In the mid-1980s, the last known wild population of ferrets was captured and transported to a research base for artificial breeding. Now the release of black-footed ferrets into their former habitat in the US is being called an "amazing return."

The habitat of the American ferret is the eastern and southern regions of the Rocky Mountains, the territory of the Great Plains from Albert and Saskatchewan, to Texas and Arizona (USA).

The black-footed ferret is approximately 45 cm long, with a bushy 15 cm tail, and weighs over 1 kg. Like most members of this family, Mustela nigripes have a squat, elongated body with very short legs. Their fur, which is white at the base, becomes darker at the ends of the hairline and gives the overall yellowish-brown color to the animal. The legs and end of the tail are black, and the black-footed ferret also has a mask characteristic of many ferrets. black face". This color scheme helps ferrets to be invisible in their habitat.

The habitat of the American black-footed ferret is prairie (low to medium grass cover). It rises through treeless spaces high into the mountains (up to 3000 m above sea level).

Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. Hearing, sight and smell are well developed. The species is highly dependent on prairie dogs. Almost all the time (up to 99%) he spends in their holes. In the area of ​​these colonies, he rests and sleeps, immediately gets his own food, avoids predators, bad weather and feeds offspring.

Males are more active than females. In winter, the activity of black-footed ferrets decreases, as does the area of ​​the surveyed territory. On cold and snowy days it remains in the hole, feeding on its reserves.
On the ground it moves in jumps or at a slow gallop (up to 8-11 km/h). In one night you can walk up to 10 km. Males cover more distance (almost twice) than females.

In addition to the breeding season, it leads a solitary lifestyle. Uses scent tags to communicate with relatives. He marks the boundaries of his site with a secret from the prianal glands. In favorable years, the population density is one ferret per 50 ha of prairie dog colonies. The territory of adult ferrets is (in diameter) 1-2 km.

The male does not participate in the rearing of offspring. The breeding season is March-April. Puberty occurs in the first year of life. Reproductive age up to 3-4 years. Pregnancy lasts 41-45 days. Young males settle from their native nest for considerable distances (10-15 km), while females remain close to their mother.

The female gives birth to 3-4 puppies (on average). As the cubs grow older, the female leaves them alone during the day in the nest, while she hunts. Young people begin to hunt on their own in September-October.

Black-footed ferrets can be found on prairie dog colonies, which make up the bulk of their diet (up to 90%). If possible, it eats gophers, rabbits of the American rabbit and birds. In a year, one individual eats more than 100 prairie dogs, and more than 250 dogs are needed for one ferret family.

U.S. federal and state agencies are working with private landowners to conserve the black-footed ferret in wild nature through the release of captive-bred, zoos and animal science centers, ferrets into their natural environment a habitat. Places of issue were the States of Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Chiufua Mexico.

In 1981, a small settlement of 130 animals was discovered near Meeteetse, Wyoming. Immediately after the discovery of this ferret settlement, more than half of the ferrets died due to the disease. It was decided to save the fate of black-footed ferrets to catch 18 individuals of different sexes and place them in the territories of the scientific and zoological center.

According to the status of the black-footed ferret in 2007, its number exceeds 600 units in the United States. Although it is still considered endangered according to the old 1996 assessment, since at that time ferrets lived only in captivity with a group of specialists.

The plan to repopulate the ferret in its native environment considers the establishment of 10 or more separate, self-sustaining wild populations as its ultimate goal. Biologists hope to have 1,500 black-footed ferrets in the wild by 2010, with at least 30 breeding adults per community.