Perhaps the most well known, and certainly most endangered species associated with prairie dog ecosystem of the Great Plains is the black-footed ferret. In fact, this grassland member of the weasel family requires prairie dogs in order to survive. Black-footed ferrets live in prairie dog burrows, and feed almost exclusively on the rodents: prairie dogs make up over 90 percent of a black-footed ferret's diet. Biologists estimate that a ferret might eat one prairie dog every three days. Prairie dog restoration is needed if black-footed ferret recovery is ever to succeed.
