Mustela nigripes

(Audubon & Bachman, 1851)

Vernacular names
English : Black-footed Ferret
French : Putois à pieds noirs

Classification
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Body length of 50 cm, tail length of 15 cm, weight of 1078 g. Males are larger than females. Pelage is gray-white to yellowish-buff with black legs, black tail tip. White cheeks with black markings around eyes. Dark forehead.

Range and habitat
The species has been reintroduced to great plains of central USA and north Mexico. Lives in short grass prairies and dry grasslands.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : ENDANGERED
CITES : Appendix I
Status : The species went extinct in the wild because of destruction of prairie-dog colonies for agriculture. Now, it has been reintroduced thanks to captive breeding programs in American zoos. The species remains vulnerable to hunting, habitat loss and shortage of suitable preys.
Ex-Situ Programs : SSP in America

Observation

 

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