Endangered Species:
Black-footed ferret |
Christiansburg Elementary School
Submitted by: Pepsi boy, Grade 5
Christiansburg,VA,USA
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| Black-footed ferret
Unknown |
Why Study This Topic?
The Black-footed ferret is an endangered animal.
There are less than 100 left in the world. The Black-footed ferret
depends on the Prairie dog to survive because it is its food source.
With less than 100 left, I doubt any of them are in Virginia, except in
zoos.
I'm concerned about the Black-footed ferret because
a lot of people might start shooting them and then they'll be extinct.
In the future it might also be extinct because illegal hunters, called
poachers, may kill it.
I'm interested in the Black-footed ferret, because
I want to know a whole lot about the Black-footed ferret. All I know
is that it eats Prairie dogs to live and there are less than 100 left in
the wildlife, and that makes it an endangered species.
I think that people should let it live in Wildlife
refuges so they will be protected.
What Was Already Known
Before the search, I knew
a little bit about the Black-footed ferret.
The first time I heard of the Black-footed ferret was on "Going
Wild with Jeff Corwin", a TV program.
Before the search, I also knew it was an endangered
species and in the dark its eyes glow like a cat.
I think the reason for its endangerment is that
the air is being polluted from factories. I also think that the water
is being polluted from dumps and toxic waste.
The Black-footed ferret is probably in a bad
habitat, with little to eat and drink. Maybe people are poaching
it without anyone knowing. Maybe
there aren't many Prairie dogs where they live and so it doesn't
have enough food. Soon, I hope that this animal won't be endangered
any more.
Search for Information
I searched on the Internet
and found quite a lot of information on the Black-footed ferret.
I went to several places. Here's two of them: www.fws.gov/r9financ/cfo96/ferret.html
,and www.edf.org/want2help/bfferret.
html.
A problem encountered was that there were no
books in the school library,
and there was nothing in the encyclopedia like I was hoping.
There wasn't
really much on the Internet either.
Description of Plant or Animal
The Black-footed
ferret is about the shape of a cat, except it has a longer neck.
Its color is brown with a black-faced mask, black legs, black feet and
a black-tipped tail.
Habitat Requirements
The Black-footed ferret's primary prey is the Prairie
dog. However, Black-footed ferrets will sometimes eat
rabbits, gophers and elk.
The Black-footed ferret needs plenty of water
to survive where it lives.
Its shelter is the Prairie dog's burrow.
It uses their burrows, because a Black-footed ferret can't dig or build
that well, so it steals the Prairie dog's shelter.
The Black-footed ferret needs some space, but I didn't
find out how much when I researched its space requirements.
Adaptations
The Black-footed ferret has
many adaptations, including its fast snapping jaws, its quick speed, and
its ability to adapt to the American Prairie.
Black-footed ferrets don't have many predators,
but here are a few of them: members of the cat family, wolves, and hawks.
Some of its prey are rabbits, gophers, and sometimes elk.
The Black-footed ferret is able to blend in with
the American Prairie easily.
One of its cool features is that its eyes glow in the dark.
Reasons for Endangerment
The Black-footed ferret's population
isn't that much, but they're still around, but hard to find. There
isn't that much because its predators eat them plus men hunt them for there
fur. Right now the total population of wild and captive in
the United States, and some in Canada is 750.
In America about 100 Black-footed ferrets get
killed by poachers. Black-footed ferrets population declines a lot.
Restoration Actions
In my information it says that
they are to ensure complete survival for the Black-footed ferret by increasing
the captive population of ferrets to 200 breeding adults by 1991, which
has already been achieved. Establishing a free breeding census population
of 1500 adults in ten or more populations with no
fewer than 30 adults in each population by the year 2010.
I think that they, as in people, should stop
poaching the Black-footed ferret.
What Was Learned
The Black-footed ferret's background
is in the American Prairie. The Black-footed ferret is able to blend
in with the American Prairie easily. In the dark the Black-footed
ferret's eyes glow in the dark just like a cat's eyes in the dark.
The Black-footed ferret's ferret's status is
low. The problem is that the Black-footed ferret is tried to be found
plus it keeps getting killed by poachers and other people.
Biologists are ensuring that the Black-footed
ferrets will have complete survival.
Conclusions From Research
The research skills I used was on the Internet. It was kind of
hard because there were hardly anything on the Internet, but I still found
a little on there.
In my research I couldn't find anything on human
responsibilities.
My confidence for the Black-footed ferret not
being endangered any more is very well. For my information I found fifteen
pages of information on the Black-footed ferret.
Bibliography
http://species.fws.gov/bio_ferr.html
http://www.edf.org/Want2Help/ES/bfferret.html
http://bluegoose.arw.r9.fws.gov/NWRSil...accounts/mammals/BlackFootedFerret.html
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Elementary
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Christiansburg Elementary |
Last updated on January 25, 2000
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