Black-footed Ferret Sweatshirt

Black-footed Ferret

Mustela nigripes

The black-footed ferret is North America's only native ferret species, a small grassland carnivore easily recognized by its black eye-mask, dark feet, and slender body. It is an extreme specialist that is entirely dependent on the presence of prairie dogs and their colonies for food, shelter and raising young. Once widespread across the Great Plains, it remains a defining predator of one of North America's most threatened ecosystems.

Black-footed ferrets were nearly wiped out in the 20th century as prairie dogs were destroyed by conversions of native grasslands to crops and large-scale poisoning campaigns. Declared extinct in the 1970s, the species was rediscovered in Wyoming in 1981 and recovered through captive breeding and reintroduction. Today, habitat loss and non-native disease — especially sylvatic plague, which devastates prairie dog colonies — remain the most serious ongoing threats.

In support, 20% of all profits will be donated to the SAFE Black-footed Ferret Program!