The Black-footed ferret was first listed endangered on March 11, 1967. They became endangered mainly of two reasons. Their main diet consists of prairie dogs. Prairie Dogs were abundant until European settlers in the 1900’s used poisons to control the prairie dog population. The remaining black footed ferrets then suffered disease in the form of canine distemper.

The U.S. fish and Wildlife Service started a reintroduction plan after a black footed ferret endangered ecology study was done to bring back the ferret. Recently 40 black footed ferrets were released in Wyoming.

The endangered black footed ferret has a long hard road facing the odds with disease and other difficulties before coming delisted from the endangered species listing. The black footed ferret and the prairie dog go hand in hand. In order for the ferret to come back, so will the prairie dog. The prairie dog also suffers from disease. Studying the diseases that harm both species could help. Methods could be developed to control disease outbreak and develop ways for resistance.