How is the Black Footed Ferret Different from Other Ferrets?
The black footed ferret is not the same as the domestic variety that are kept as pets. Let's learn about domestic ferrets first. Domestic ferrets have been bred for centuries and were once used to hunt rabbits and rats. Domestic ferrets are related to the European polecat.
Domestic ferrets are 25 inches long (males) or smaller (females). They can be a variety of different colors including nearly black or white. They usually sport cream-colored fur, dark on the tips, feet, and tail, and a dark mask around the eyes. Although most breeders remove their scent glands to remove their bad odor they still secrete a bad odor from glands in the skin. What about the black footed ferret?
In contrast the black footed ferret has yellowish fur which is a bit darker along the back. The feet are black as is the tip of the tail and around the eyes.
The black footed ferret is indigenous to western North America and is a bit smaller than the domestic ferret. Throughout history these ferrets were found along the Great Plains where they hunted prairie dogs and took over their burrows.
In the late 1800s prairie dogs were eradicated as pets by ranchers and the loss of a food source for the black footed ferret has seen them become very rare indeed. The United States Department of fish and game classes them as an endangered species.
Experts used to think that the black footed ferret was completely extinct. That is, until 1981 when 125 ferrets were found alive and well in Wyoming. Subsequently many of these animals contracted distemper. Those that survived were moved to captivity were they have been bred ever since. To make sure that the species lived on, in 1991 captive bred animals were released into the wilderness.
The scientific name for the domestic ferret is Mustela furo while the black footed ferret is Mustela nigripes. Responsible ferret owners should know the difference between the two animals and not be sold wild ferret babies due to their ignorance. Wild ferrets don't make good pets and you won't do them any favors by keeping them in captivity.
