Black-footed Ferret

Fast Facts

Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in captivity: 12 years
Size: Head and body, 15 to 20 in (38 to 50 cm); Tail 4¼ to 5 in (11 to 13 cm)
Group name: Business

Did you know? Ferrets are nocturnal, sleeping up to 21 hours per day and hunting prairie dogs primarily during the night.

It could also be called the black-eyed ferret because of the distinctive "stick-em up" mask that adorns its face. The tan ferrets also have black markings on their feet, legs, and tail tip.

This animal's long slender body, like that of a weasel, enables it to crawl in and out of the holes and dwellings of its primary prey—the prairie dog.

Though black-footed ferrets sometimes eat squirrels, mice, and other rodents, prairie dogs are essential to their survival, making up the majority of the ferret diet. These voracious predators hunt them in their own burrows, and take shelter in abandoned prairie dog dwellings.

These solitary animals live alone, and in May and June females give birth to litters of one to six kits that they raise alone. The young are able to survive on their own by fall.