Do Ferrets Eat Prairie Dogs?

Ferrets rely heavily on prairie dogs not only for their homes, but also for food. Prairie dogs make up a whopping 90% of a Black-Footed Ferret's diet (with the remaining 10% made up of prey like squirrels, mice, and other rodents). One ferret eats a prairie dog about every three days.

Why do ferrets need prairie dogs?

Ferrets rely on prairie dogs for survival. The sites where ferrets are holding on are those that have not been devastated by plague, often due to the use of plague mitigation tools such as dusting prairie dog burrows with insecticide to prevent fleas with plague from spreading the disease to prairie dogs.

Do foxes eat ferrets and prairie dogs?

Black-footed ferrets, like hawks, foxes and other predators, depend on prairie dogs for food. But other animals and plants benefit from prairie dogs in less obvious ways.