Food Habits of Two Litters of Black-Footed Ferrets in South Dakota

Sheets, Robert G.; Linder, Raymond L.; Dahlgren, Robert B.

doi:10.2307/2423900

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Wyoming each black-footed ferret occupied an area averaging 50 hectares of prairie dog colony (Forrest and others 1985). Prairie dogs constituted 90% of their diet (Sheets andothers 1972, Campbell andothers 1987), and they also live in the prairie dog burrows. In short, ferrets evolved to utilize prairie dog colonies with extraordinary economy, but the cost of this specialization was vulnerability to habitat disruption.…”

Section: The Result: An Endangered Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

Miller

Wemmer

Biggins

et al. 1990

Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT/Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) have been poisoned throughout this century because of grazing competition with livestock. Recent evidence showed these early claims were exaggerated, but animal control was already entrenched in government policy. As a result, ongoing government subsidized poisoning has reduced prairie dogs to about 2% of their former distribution. The reduction of prairie dogs diminished species diversity in the arid grasslands of North America, including the potential extinction of the blackfooted ferret (Mustela nigripes). Cost-benefit analysis revealed that poisoning costs more than any grazing benefits accrued. This analysis did not consider the long-term costs of reversing ecosystem degradation, the intangible value of biological diversity as a public benefit, or the depletion of biotic resources as a loss of actual or potential wealth. The government presently finances the poisoning policy and the preservation of endangered species like the black-footed ferret, two apparently conflicting programs. We, therefore, propose an integrated management plan that considers both interests. We propose that federal monies allocated to the poisoning program be converted into a rebate for ranchers who manage livestock while preserving the prairie dog community. This would redirect funds and personnel already allocated to prairie dog eradication to an incentive for ranchers who manage for livestock and wildlife. Livestock interests and grassland biotic diversity would both benefit.

show abstract

Section: The Result: An Endangered Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

Miller

Wemmer

Biggins

et al. 1990

Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A key component of preconditioning is providing ferrets with the opportunity to hunt, kill, and consume prairie dogs Cynomys spp., their primary prey (Hillman 1968;Sheets et al 1972;Campbell et al 1987;Brickner et al 2014), in a quasi-natural habitat. Researchers believe that, on average, wild ferrets kill approximately one prairie dog every 3.3 d (Biggins et al 1993), and preconditioning allows for ferrets to practice the vital skills that will be needed postrelease.…”

Section: Prairie-dog Huntingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have occasionally described instances of ferrets unsuccessfully pursuing songbirds (Henderson et al 1974;Eads 2012) and Hillman (1968) described live-tethering small mammals and birds, which nearby wild ferrets would readily attack and consume. Others (Sheets et al 1972;Campbell et al 1987) have described wild ferret scat makeup as consisting of only mammalian (Cynomys, Peromyscus, Lagurus, Microtus, Sylvilagus, Lepus) remains while Brickner et al (2014) described ferret diets on white-tailed prairie dog Cynomys leucurus colonies traced through stable isotopic values, but looked only for mammalian prey species.…”

Section: Bird Predationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rarely Observed Behaviors and Occurrences of Black-footed Ferrets Preconditioning for Wild Release 2014–2017

Tretten

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Black-footed ferrets Mustela nigripes became extinct in the wild in 1987 when the last known wild animals were removed from a remnant population in an attempt to save the species by beginning a captive breeding program. Breeding efforts were successful, and since 1991 wildlife managers have annually released ferrets back into the wild at sites within the ferrets' historic range. Before their release into the wild, ferrets undergo a preconditioning stage in a quasi-natural habitat which better prepares them for life in the wild after a captive upbringing. Due to their nocturnal, fossorial, and largely solitary lifestyle, combined with their expansive habitat and endangered status, there are undoubtedly a multitude of behaviors ferrets exhibit that are not commonly observed. Here I detail multiple aspects of rarely described black-footed ferret ecology including black-tailed prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus hunting stratagems, interactions with prairie rattlesnakes Crotalus viridis viridis, predation on birds, and sudden unexplained deaths of entire ferret family groups. The preconditioning setting that serves as an intermediate step between a captive and wild life for captive-reared ferrets allows for wildlife managers to witness ferret behaviors, though similar situations conceivably occur somewhat regularly in the wild.

show abstract

“…Thus, prairie dogs and routes of escape from predators were both abundant in the areas most frequently used by ferrets and, consequently, we could not distinguish between selection for densities of prey or refuge. We hypothesize that ferrets respond to distributions of both resources, given ferrets prey almost exclusively on prairie dogs, and predation is a major source of mortality for ferrets (Sheets et al 1972, Campbell et al 1987). …”

Section: Space Use and Resource Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Multi-Opening Burrow Systems by Black-Footed Ferrets

Biggins¹

2012

Western North American Naturalist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Food Habits of Two Litters of Black-Footed Ferrets in South Dakota

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

Rarely Observed Behaviors and Occurrences of Black-footed Ferrets Preconditioning for Wild Release 2014–2017

Use of Multi-Opening Burrow Systems by Black-Footed Ferrets

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About