SMALLER MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA 



571 



THE BLACK-FOOTED FERRET 



(Mustela nigripes and its relatives) 



(For iUiistration, see page 331) 



Of all the varied forms of mammalian life 

 in America, the black-footed ferret has always 

 impressed me as one of the strangest and most 

 like a stranded exotic. It is about the size of 

 a mink, but, as the illustration shows, is entirely 

 different in appearance and has the general 

 form of a giant weasel. It has no close rela- 

 tive in America, but bears an extraordinarily 

 close resemblance in size, form, and color to 

 the Siberian ferret (Mustela eversinanni). 



The black-footed ferret occurs only in the 

 interior of the United States, closely restricted 

 to the area inhabited by prairie-dogs, from the 

 Rocky Mountains eastward and from Montana 

 and the Dakotas to western Texas. It is 

 known also west of the mountains in Colorado. 

 Like others of the weasel tribe, it must have 

 a wandering disposition, since one was captured 

 at 9,800 feet altitude, and another was found 

 drowned at 10,250 feet in Lake Moraine, Colo- 

 rado. 



These ferrets exist as parasites in the prairie- 

 dog colonies, making their homes in deserted 

 burrows and feeding on the hapless colonists. 

 In Kansas their presence in certain localities 

 appears to have been effective in exterminating 

 prairie-dogs, and similar activities may account 

 for the deserted "dog towns" which are not 

 infrequently observed on the plains with no ap- 

 parent reason for the absence of the habitants. 



They do not appear to be numerous in any 

 part of their range and little is known con- 

 cerning their habits. Now and then they are 

 seen moving about prairie-dog "towns," passing 

 in and out of the burrows at all hours of the 

 day, but it is probable that they are mainly 

 nocturnal. This probability is strengthened by 

 the extreme restlessness shown at night by cap- 

 tive animals. With the occupation of the coun- 

 try and the inevitable extinction of the prairie- 

 dog over nearly or quite all of its range, the 

 black- footed ferret is practically certain to dis- 

 appear with its host species. 



It has the same bold, inquisitive character 

 shown by the weasel, and when its interest is 

 excited will stand up on its hind legs and 

 stretch its long neck to one side and another 

 in an effort to satisfy its curiosity. When 

 surprised in a "dog town" it commonly retreats 

 to a burrow, but promptly turns and raises its 

 head high out of the hole to observe the visitor. 

 As a result ferrets are readily killed by hunters. 

 When one is captured it will at first hiss and 

 spit like a cat and fight viciously, but is not 

 difficult to tame. 



Although mainly dependent upon prairie-dogs 

 for food, there is little doubt that ferrets, after 

 the manner of their kind, also kill rabbits and 

 other rodents in addition to taking whatever 

 birds and birds' eggs may be secured. In one 

 instance a black-footed ferret lived for several 

 days under a wooden sidewalk in the borrler 

 town of Hays, Kansas, where it killed the rats 

 harboring there. 



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^ere «Ti -^/T^c^ jr^*^ 







TRACK OF A COMMON PIG 



Pig and deer tracks are often found in the 

 same places and to a casual glance may l)c mis- 

 taken for each other, but the bluntness of the 

 pig track distinguishes it and the clouts or 

 hind hoofs do not show on level gro'und, but 

 do in one or two inches of snow or mud. 



