Black-Footed Ferret
Part of Hall of North American Mammals.
![NAM_DF_Black-Footed Ferret hero.jpg](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-north-american-mammals-images/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg/1445509-1-eng-US/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg_wideexact_2460.jpg 2460w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-north-american-mammals-images/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg/1445509-1-eng-US/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg_wideexact_1230.jpg 1230w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-north-american-mammals-images/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg/1445509-1-eng-US/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg_wideexact_800.jpg 800w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-north-american-mammals-images/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg/1445509-1-eng-US/nam_df_black-footed-ferret-hero.jpg_wideexact_400.jpg 400w)
Summer, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
Black-footed ferrets are North America’s rarest mammals. Because they prey almost entirely on prairie dogs and live in their burrows, prairie dog declines nearly caused the ferret’s extinction. All black-footed ferrets today, including the reintroduced population here at Wind Cave, descended from seven wild ferrets bred in captivity. Although captive breeding has been a success, disease outbreaks in the wild hamper their recovery.
© AMNH/D. Finnin