Description of the American Black-footed ferret. American ferret, description, habitat and lifestyle, what it eats, photos, videos Name of the American ferret 5 letters

American ferret, also known as black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)- small carnivorous mammal from the weasel family (Mustelidae). In the last century, the American ferret virtually disappeared from the wild. North America, but thanks to the hard work of research centers on artificial breeding, the population of these animals is gradually reviving.

Description

The black-footed ferret has a long body and yellowish-brown fur. On the back, the coat color is dark. The end of the tail and legs are black. There is a black mask around the eyes. The ferret has large, rounded ears; the muzzle, forehead and neck are white, and the nose is black. The neck is elongated; paws are short and thick. The fingers have pointed, slightly curved claws. The weight of females varies between 645 - 850 grams, and males - 915 - 1.125 grams. The body length of black-footed ferrets is 380 - 600 mm. Females are usually 10% smaller than males.

Area

Historically, the American ferret's range included areas of North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico. This is the only ferret species native to North America. Today, they can be found in three places: northeastern Montana, western South Dakota, and southeastern Wyoming. All three sites are sites where the black-footed ferret population has recovered after being extirpated. This subspecies can also be found in seven zoos and breeding centers.

Habitat

Black-footed ferrets can be found in the grasslands and hills of North America. They live in abandoned prairie dog burrows and use these complex underground tunnels for shelter and hunting. Each ferret typically requires about 40-48 hectares of space in which the animals obtain food. A female with cubs needs 55 hectares of territory to survive. The ranges of males may overlap with the territories of several females.

Reproduction

Females reach sexual maturity at one year of age. Breeding usually occurs in March and April. When a male and a female come into contact during estrus, he sniffs her genitals but does not take active action for several hours, which differs from the aggressive manner of the European ferret. When mating, the male grabs the female by the back of her head. The duration of copulation is 1.5-3 hours. The gestation period ranges from 35 to 45 days. 1-6 cubs are born in a litter. The young remain in the burrow for approximately 42 days. IN summer months, the females remain with the cubs and separate in the fall when the young ferrets achieve their independence. During the mating season, females actively pursue males.

Lifespan

In captivity, the average lifespan of an American ferret is 12 years.

Nutrition

Black-footed ferrets primarily feed on prairie dogs. However, they sometimes eat mice, gophers and other small animals. Typically, a ferret consumes 50-70 grams of meat per day. It has been observed that American ferrets do not store killed prey in hiding places.

Behavior

This species prefers night look life, activity begins at dusk. IN winter time, ferrets reduce their activity and sometimes remain in their burrows for up to a week. Black-footed ferrets are subterranean animals that use prairie dog burrows for movement and shelter. They are solitary animals, except during the breeding season. Males take absolutely no part in raising their offspring. Black-footed ferrets are territorial animals and actively defend their territory from other same-sex competitors. Ferrets are considered alert, active and curious mammals, and are known to have a keen sense of smell, vision, and hearing. They rely on olfactory communication (urination, defecation) to maintain their dominance and find their way during nocturnal travel. American ferrets are noisy mammals that chirp and hiss. wildlife when they are afraid of something or scare someone.

Economic value for humans: Positive

Black-footed ferrets help control the population of prairie dogs, which are sometimes viewed as pests because of their burrowing behavior and their potential to carry zoonotic diseases such as bubonic plague.

Economic significance for humans: Negative

American ferrets are often considered pests by ranchers. Tunnel systems used by ferrets and prairie dogs cause injury to the animals.

Security status

The species is considered the rarest mammal in North America. The ferret population has suffered greatly due to the extermination of prairie dogs. Cattlemen hunted prairie dogs due to pasture destruction (tunneling and foraging). In 1985, the rodent population numbered 31 individuals, and by 1987 - 18. It was decided to place the surviving ferrets in zoos and begin breeding them in captivity using artificial insemination. This is one of the first examples of assisted reproduction helping to conserve endangered species in .

As of 2013, approximately 1,200 ferrets live in the wild. Today, the population is growing, but is still under threat and, according to the International Red Book, is listed as an endangered species.

Other names: American black-footed ferret.

Area: eastern and southern regions of the Rocky Mountains, the territory of the Great Plains from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Texas and Arizona (USA).

Description: The American black-footed ferret has a long neck and a slender, wiry body with very short legs. The tail is fluffy. Males are larger and heavier than females.

Color: The fur is smooth yellowish, there are black spots on the face, and the tip of the tail and paws are black.

Size: total length 46-60 cm, tail 13-15 cm.

Weight: 0.7-1.1 kg.

Lifespan: in nature 3-4 years, in captivity 8-9 years.

Habitat: prairie (with low to medium height herbaceous cover).
It rises through treeless spaces high into the mountains (up to 3000 m above sea level).

Enemies: birds of prey and humans. Diseases (such as plague) and poisoning also affect population numbers.

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

Behavior: nocturnal. Hearing, vision and sense of smell are well developed. The species is extremely dependent on prairie dogs. He spends almost all of his time (up to 99%) in their burrows. In the area of ​​these colonies, he rests and sleeps, immediately obtains food for himself, avoids predators, bad weather and feeds the offspring.
Males are more active than females. IN winter period 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 leaps or slow gallops (up to 8-11 km/h). In one night it can cover up to 10 km. Males travel a greater distance (almost twice) than females.

Social structure : Except for the breeding season, it leads a solitary lifestyle.
To communicate with relatives, it uses scent marks. The boundaries of its territory are marked with secretions from the anal glands.
In favorable years, the population density is one ferret per 50 hectares of prairie dog colonies. The territory of adult ferrets is (in diameter) 1-2 km.

Reproduction: The male does not participate in raising the offspring.

Breeding season/period: March, April.

Puberty : in the first year of life. Reproductive age up to 3-4 years.

Pregnancy: lasts 41-45 days. Young males disperse from their native nest over considerable distances (10-15 km), while females remain close to their mother.

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

Benefit/harm for humans: The black-footed ferret regulates prairie dog populations.

Population/Conservation Status: The species is listed on Appendix II of the CITES Convention.
The main threat to the species is habitat loss (conversion of fields and meadows for agricultural use and widespread eradication programs prairie dog, has reduced black-footed ferret habitat to less than 2% of what previously existed). The American black-footed ferret was listed on the International Red List: 1960-1994. as endangered, 1996-2004 like something that has disappeared from nature.
Currently, the ferret is found in Canada and the USA. The population of the species in 2005 numbered about 500 individuals in the wild and about a thousand in captivity.

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Black-footed ferret, Black-footed Ferret: Mustela nigripes Audubon & Bachman, 1851. Other names: American black-footed ferret

Range: The original range of the black-footed weasel occupied the eastern and southern regions of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Texas and Arizona (USA).

The American black-footed ferret has a long neck and a slender, wiry body, with very short legs.

Color: The smooth fur of the black-footed ferret is yellowish in color; There are black spots on her face, the tip of her tail and its legs are also black.

The American [black-footed] ferret is 46 - 60 cm in length, including 13 - 15 cm of a fluffy tail. Weight: It weighs 0.7 - 1.1 kg, with males weighing slightly more than females.

Life Span: Ferrets typically live about 3 - 4 years in the wild (the oldest lived at least 8 years) and 8 - 9 years in captivity (the oldest was at least 11 years old).

Voice: The American black-footed ferret is a very vocal animal. He screams loudly when disturbed, scared or excited. In such a situation, he makes several loud cries, interrupted by low hissing notes. Male black-footed ferrets "giggle" when interacting with a female during the rutting season, and the cubs make very quiet squeaking sounds.

Habitat: The American black-footed ferret is typically found in prairies with low to mid-height grass cover, in association with prairie dogs.

Like other weasels and ferrets, the black-footed ferret easily moves across an area in search of its prey, climbing through treeless spaces even high into the mountains. Some individuals were found at an altitude of 3000 m above sea level, and another animal was found drowned in Morena Lake, Colorado [USA], located at an altitude of 3125 m.

The North American prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth - perhaps even more endangered than the South American rainforest or the old-growth forests of the American Northwest. The prairie plains of North America began to form about 20 million years ago, but in some areas, up to 99 percent of the prairie has been destroyed in just the past 125 to 150 years.

The area known as the Great Plains was once the largest field on earth and covered most of the continental US along with parts of southern Canada and northern Mexico. The prairie extended from the Rocky Mountains eastward for over 800 miles, and extended over 3000 miles from north to south. The plains were created from sedimentary rocks washed out of the Rocky Mountains over millions of years, which formed silt, sand and clay. Rocky Mountains also blocked access to threads humid air from Pacific Ocean, creating a drier climate on the continent that gave grasses an advantage over trees.

Enemies: Habitat loss is the primary reason why the black-footed ferret was on the brink of near extinction and why it remains a major threat to the species today. Conversion of fields and meadows to agricultural use and widespread prairie dog eradication programs have reduced black-footed ferret habitat to less than 2 percent of what previously existed. Remaining habitats are now fragmented, associated with prairie dog colonies, separated by large expanses of cropland and human structures. Diseases, including plague (affecting both black-footed ferrets and their prairie dog prey), as well as poisoning and shooting, also remain potential threats.

The American black-footed ferret is usually found on colonies of prairie dogs, which make up the absolute majority of their diet. In the wild, prairie dogs make up 90% of the black-footed ferret's diet.

The black-footed ferret also eats ground squirrels, other small rodents, rabbits and birds.

A ferret typically eats over 100 prairie dogs in one year, and from this, scientists have calculated that over 250 prairie dogs are needed to support one family of black-footed ferrets for one year.

It has been estimated that about 40 - 60 ha of prairie dog colonies are needed to support one black ferret. The black-footed ferret will typically explore an area of ​​up to 100 hectares over a 3 to 8 day period in the winter.

The black-footed ferret is a secretive animal, primarily nocturnal. He has well-developed external senses: acute hearing, sensitive sense of smell and good vision.

The American black-footed ferret is extremely dependent on the prairie dog. Because it feeds primarily on prairie dogs, the black-footed ferret spends most of its life in prairie dog colonies. It spends up to 99% of its time in prairie dog burrows, usually spending only a few minutes each day on earth's surface. In burrows he sleeps, gets his food, avoids predators and bad weather, and here he breeds his young. To rest and sleep, the black-footed ferret occupies an underground burrow made by the prairie dog.

Its long, slender body allows it to easily penetrate burrows to find prey while prairie dogs are sleeping. This reduces the risk of injury to the ferret since it is attacking prey that is the same size as itself.

Males are more active than females. The black-footed ferret does not sleep in winter, but the amount of activity time decreases significantly, as does the area of ​​the surveyed territory. In winter, in cold, snowy weather, the black-footed ferret can remain inactive for long periods, up to 6 nights and days, remaining in a burrow in which it subsists on previously stored food.

When the black-footed ferret travels across the surface of the earth, it moves in a series of hops or a slow gallop. It can normally move at a speed of 8 - 11 km/h. Biologists tracked a black-footed ferret as it traveled 6 miles in one night, during which time it explored more than 100 prairie dog burrows. The distances covered by males are almost twice as large as those of females.

Social Structure: The black-footed ferret is solitary except during mating season, with males apparently not helping to raise and feed the young.

The black-footed ferret uses scent marks to communicate with its fellow tribesmen, using the secretion of the anal glands for this purpose. It marks its territory by applying an odorous gland secretion to rocks, soil and vegetation.

The black-footed ferret population consists of approximately 67% juveniles and 33% adults.

A study of the wild population found that the average ferret density in favorable habitats was approximately 1 animal per 50 ha of prairie dog colonies. The average distance between two prairie dog towns occupied by black-footed ferrets was 5.4 km. Adult ferrets occupy a territory with a diameter of approximately 1 - 2 km.

Reproduction: The young emerge from the burrow in July. In late summer, females increasingly leave their young in the burrow alone during the day, and gather them together at night to hunt together. Young ferrets begin to hunt on their own only in September or October, when they leave their mother and become independent and solitary.

Young males disperse over longer distances, generally up to 10 - 15 km, while young females often remain close to the maternal territory.

Breeding Season/Period: Mating usually occurs in March and April.

Puberty: Both males and females become sexually mature in the first year of life. The peak reproductive period for males and females is around three to four years of age.

Pregnancy: 41 - 45 days (about 7 weeks)

Offspring: the female brings on average 3 - 4 young, sometimes in a litter with artificial keeping there are up to 9-10 puppies. In the wild, litter size in South Dakota averaged 3.5 (range: 1 - 5); in Wyoming averaged 3.3 babies.

The black-footed ferret is a natural, effective regulator of prairie dog numbers.

The black-footed ferret is listed on the Convention's Appendix Sites as an endangered species and on Appendix II of the Agreement on International Trade (a list of species prohibited from commercial trade).

Antipathy towards prairie dogs is pronounced among some groups of the population, including ranchers and many workers Agriculture. Therefore, from the 1920s to the 1960s, the US government sponsored intensive programs to eradicate the prairie dog from states located in Great Plains, using poison and plowing prairie dog populations (to prevent damage to agriculture and occupation cattle livestock farming). For example, the area occupied by prairie dog towns in Kansas was reduced by 98.6%; the black-footed ferret was apparently an unintentional victim of the prairie dog eradication campaign. Even in the 1990s, federal agencies authorized and subsidized the annual eradication of 80,000 hectares of prairie dog colonies.

Thus, the black-footed ferret experienced a dramatic decline in numbers during the first half of the 20th century. – she hasn’t dated since 1937. In the late 1970s it was thought to have disappeared in both countries. However, in 1981, a colony of black-footed ferrets was found in Wyoming, USA.

The first group of captured ferrets all died because a number of them were infected in nature with the rabies pathogen. This led to the discovery that canine rabies was responsible for the rapid decline of the ferret population in Meeteetse. At this point, all 18 remaining ferrets were captured, vaccinated, quarantined, and sent to a breeding center. As a result of the black-footed ferret breeding program, by 1991 the captive population had increased to 311 animals and 49 animals had been released back into the wild. They now live in seven sites where the species has been reintroduced, including sites in Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, South Dakota and along the Colorado-Utah border, as well as in Chihuahua, Mexico.

In 1998, the number of black-footed ferret offspring bred at six zoos and one government breeding center for the species produced results that surpassed all previous ones, with a total of 425 born, of which 321 survived to the age of weaning.

Status and Trends: 1960s - 1994: endangered species; 1996 - 2004: extinct in the wild (IUCN 2004). Currently, the black-footed ferret is found in Canada and the United States.

Population Estimates: 1920s: Possibly approximately 800,000 individuals. 1984 - 128 individuals, in 1996 and it now controls 240 (90 males and females), 2005 - about 500 individuals. There are currently approximately one thousand black-footed ferrets in captivity.

Among the endangered species of the mustelid family listed on the North American Red List is the American black-footed ferret, which was almost exterminated in Canadian territory and began to restore his quantitative composition since 1980 through artificial breeding.

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

• The animal has a body stretched 45 cm in length on short legs with long neck and a fluffy tail 15 cm long, a small head;
• the fur is light in color at the very base and 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 natural environment a habitat,
• V total mass creamy-yellow coloration, black legs, abdominal area and tail tip 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 note its close resemblance to steppe representative. Today, through 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 cross it out from its pages.

Lifestyle

The American ferret can only be found in North America. Animals raised in artificial conditions are released into the wild. The black-footed ferret can live in lowlands and in medium height herbs, but is also capable of rising 3 km above sea level into the mountains.

American ferret is a predator that is nocturnal. 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 polecat is able to quickly penetrate rodent burrows, coping with its prey and occupying its home for the near future.

Bred under conditions national parks and zoos, black-footed hori settle in American states Montana, South Dakota, Colorado and Arizona. They are also found in Mexico.

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

Nutrition

The main diet for the American black-footed ferret are small-sized animals, including:

• rodents,
• large insects,
• small birds.

Among rodents, the main targets for prey are ground squirrels or prairie dogs, of which each family of American ferrets is ready to eat up to 250 individuals per calendar year, so often colonies of polecats settle in rodent habitats. For adequate nutrition, one animal requires on average up to 100 prairie dogs per year.

Looking for food American Hori are able to run up to 10 km per night, reaching speeds of up to 10-11 km/h. They usually move spasmodically.

The development of land by farms and the extermination of mouse-like rodents has become one of the reasons for a 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, with an average lifespan of 4 years. If kept under human care in captivity, the American ferret can live up to 9 years.

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

When mating season approaches, female American black-footed ferrets actively pursue males.

The rutting season for the American black-footed ferret begins in the spring, in March or April. In contrast to the fertility of the steppe ferret, the litter of an American representative usually contains no more than 5-6 cubs, which the female ferret carries for 35-45 days.

Newborn chicks stay with their mother in the burrow for about 1.5 months. When offspring appear in summer period the female remains with the cubs in the burrows, and when autumn comes, when the grown-up ferrets become independent, the family separates and the animals scatter.