The black-footed ferret is 18 to 24 inches long, including a 5 to 6 inch tail. It weighs only one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half pounds, with males slightly larger than females. The black-footed ferret is well adapted to its prairie environment. Its color and markings blend so well with grassland soils and plants, that it is hard to detect until it moves. It is a slender, wiry animal with a black face mask, black feet, and a black-tipped tail. The rest of its short, sleek fur is a yellow-buff color, lighter on the belly and nearly white on the forehead, muzzle, and throat. It has short legs with large front paws and claws developed for digging. The ferret's large ears and eyes suggest it has acute hearing and sight, but smell is probably its most important sense for hunting prey underground in the dark.

Current Listing Status

Status Date Listed Lead Region Where Listed 03/11/1967 Mountain-Prairie Region (Region 6) entire population, except where EXPN 08/21/1991 Mountain-Prairie Region (Region 6) U.S.A. (specific portions of AZ, CO, MT, SD, UT, and WY)

The FWS is currently monitoring the following populations of the Black-footed ferret 

• Population location: Entire, except where listed as an experimental population below
  Listing status:  Endangered
  States/US Territories in which this population is known to occur:   Arizona, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
  Countries in which this population is known to occur:   Mexico
  For more information, please see:  http://www.blackfootedferret.org/
  
• Population location: U.S.A. (specific portions of AZ, CO, MT, SD, UT, and WY, see 17.84(g))
  Listing status:  Experimental Population, Non-Essential
  States/US Territories in which this population is known to occur:   Arizona, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
  Countries in which this population is known to occur:   Mexico