What are the main threats to the black-footed ferret?
The biggest threat to the black-footed ferret is lack of available suitable prairie dog habitat on which the ferret depends for survival. Unless efforts are made to protect and conserve the prairie ecosystem, the ferret and many other plant and animal species could face the threat of extinction. Disease also poses a significant threat to the black-footed ferret. Sylvatic plague, spread by fleas, is deadly to both ferrets and prairie dogs, and ferrets are also susceptible to canine distemper, pneumonia, tularemia, and a variety of internal parasites.
The biggest threat to the black-footed ferret is lack of suitable habitat and the continued decline of the prairie dog–the animal on which the ferret depends for survival. Unless efforts are made to protect and conserve the prairie ecosystem, the ferret and many other plant and animal species could face the threat of extinction. Disease also poses a significant threat to the black-footed ferret. Sylvatic plague, spread by fleas, is deadly to both ferrets and prairie dogs, and ferrets are also susceptible to canine distemper, pneumonia, tularemia, and a variety of internal parasites.
