black-footed ferret

[ blak-foot-id ]

noun

1. a weasellike polecat, Mustela nigripes, of prairie regions of the U.S., having a yellowish-brown body with the tip of the tail and legs black: an endangered species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of black-footed ferret¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Above, a black-footed ferret at an FWS program in Colorado.

From NewsForKids.net

For every success story like that of the bald eagle or the black-footed ferret, the Endangered Species Act also has countless failures.

From Salon

Scientists have created a healthy clone of a black-footed ferret by using DNA from a ferret that died over 30 years ago.

From NewsForKids.net

Fusing a ferret fibroblast with an egg cell made an embryo, and a clone - Elizabeth Ann the black-footed ferret - was born in December of 2020.

From BBC

To boost the black-footed ferret genes, scientists hope to one day breed Elizabeth Ann’s male offspring with a captive black-footed female, thereby ferreting out any domestic genes.

From Science Magazine