Black-Footed Ferret Home Ranges in Conata Basin, South Dakota

Documentation of the Black-Footed Ferret, Mustela nigripes on the Standing RockIndian Reservation, Mobridge, South Dakota

Plague in a black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes).

Diagnosis of sylvatic plague in a captive black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) was based on gross and microscopic lesions, fluorescent antibody tests, culture of Yersinia pestis, and immunohistochemistry. Gross lesions consisted of acute hemorrhage and necrosis associated with cervical and mesenteric lymph nodes, subcutaneous hemorrhages, and pulmonary edema. Acute edema, hemorrhage, and necr...

Interface Between Black-footed Ferret Research And Operational Conservation

Historical and Present Status of the Black-Footed Ferret

—The black-footed ferret (Mustela nlgrlpes) was once widely distributed in the Great Plains and intermountain valleys of North America, its range overlapping the combined ranges of several species of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Most life history information has been obtained from studies of ferrets in southwestern South Dakota (1964-1974) and studies near Meeteetse, Wyoming (1981-present). The...

Enzootic plague reduces black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) survival in Montana.

Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) require extensive prairie dog colonies (Cynomys spp.) to provide habitat and prey. Epizootic plague kills both prairie dogs and ferrets and is a major factor limiting recovery of the highly endangered ferret. In addition to epizootics, we hypothesized that enzootic plague, that is, presence of disease-causing Yersinia pestis without any noticeable prairie...