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Black Footed Ferrets

© Jeremiah James Baldwin

The Black Footed Ferret

The Black Footed Ferret stands as the most endangered mammal in North America, or so it was thought at one point in time, however with the remarkable recovery processes undergo, the uniquely wild breed of ferrets has gained a greater population in the past few years, and so they continue to grow. Although the Ferret was never a greatly abundant weasel, their numbers have been growing ever fewer and it was at this point in time when members of various organizations composed of numerous fish and game departments, amongst others, decided to step in, and help save these rare and adorable weasels. Technically we call the Black Footed Ferret the Mustela nigripes, where it belongs to the Weasel family or the technical Mustelidae Family.

In the historical sense, the Mustela Nigripes had their place as an element used in religious ceremonies. This of course is just one of the historical places ferrets dwell, however perhaps one of the most popular uses for ferrets was their decorative fashion. The pelts of these mammals where used as decorative dressings among North American Indians. The ferrets however where not located solely within North America, their appearance was recognized upon the face of every continent in the world with the exception of the continents Australia and Antarctica. While the solitary Black Footed Ferret evolved from North America, the concept of these critters as residential pets evolved within Europe.

Ferrets have found their place in the hearts of an innumerable number of people, where in a personal sense the slenderness of their thin bodies, the lengthiness and squirminess of their long tails, and the bandit like mask plastered across their cute and adorable faces appeals greatly to the amusements of Ferret owners. If I could chose only a few words to describe these wonderful mammal pets, I would have to say first and above all 'attractive' because of the beauty of their fur. Second, 'hyper', while there are a large number of Ferrets that are mellow and humdrum, generally Ferrets have an amazing amount of vigor.

Ferret Facts

The wild Ferrets find their homes within the very burrows of their prey, the prairie dogs! The concept is quite amusing as a matter of fact. Ferrets are a prairie animal, thus they have associated the Prairie Dog's as their main food source. They move along the prairie grounds investigating each burrow as they go along, searching for food. The Black Footed Ferret is approximately 18 - 24 inches long which includes the length of their 5 - 6 inch tails. Generally Black Footed Ferrets have a brown face with a black mask naturally embroiled about their faces. The Black Footed Ferret is characterized by, obviously, it's black feet, black tipped tail, and black facemask. They weigh only 1 ½ to 2 ½ pounds. Ferrets are a nocturnal mammal, and they DO NOT hibernate, although the amount of time spent active, and the distances they travel does decrease during the winter season. While Ferrets small ears and pointed heads may portray a sense of acute sight and hearing, it is believed that the most effective sense of the Ferret is their keen sense of smell which they use in the night and inside burrows for the hunting of their prey. And as a fact, it has been said that Ferrets "...DO NOT jump!"... I can personally testify that this statement, that this belief is not by any means true. When a Ferret becomes excited, they will often initiate what has been called by many 'the weasel war dance'. In the act of this war dance the Ferrets will ARCH up their backs, raise their heads skyward and humorously bounce about wildly hissing at what seems to be sparking their attention. Personally I feel that Ferrets become preoccupied in this act and tend to fall into discoordination. I have seen this act at home many times, the robust weasels will jump completely off the platform from which they originated, which in most cases around my place, seems to be a bed or a Ferret hammock. If ever you witness somebody claiming that Ferrets DO NOT jump, please correct the absurd professor that his edification is completely wrong! It is an amusing fact that Ferrets do jump, as well as bark (the barking comes when they become EXTREMELY frightened). I have personally observed that they are spectacular runners as well, especially in the moment of terrified fright.

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