The black-footed ferret could also be called the black-eyed ferret because of the distinctive “stick-em up” mask that adorns its face. The tan ferrets also have black markings on their feet, legs, and tail tip.

This animal's long slender body, like that of a weasel, enables it to crawl in and out of the holes and dwellings of its primary prey—the prairie dog.

Though black-footed ferrets sometimes eat squirrels, mice, and other rodents, prairie dogs are essential to their survival, making up the majority of the ferret diet. These voracious predators hunt them in their own burrows, and take shelter in abandoned prairie dog dwellings.

Many prairie dog towns became ghost towns as populations underwent a 20th century decline. Farmers and ranchers (with