Mary
The reason that we need to save the black footed ferret is because it is a key factor in the food web and the energy pyramid. If it is removed from the plains ecosystem, prairie dogs will multiply, and the grass population will diminish, making it hard for other animals that eat grass to find food.
Of course, since ferrets eat prairie dogs, we will need to make sure that there will be enough prairie dogs too. Ferrets will eat small birds and rodents, but only very rarely. More than 90% of a ferret’s diet is prairie dogs. If their main food source is gone, then that will wipe out the species completely.
Another thing that we have to worry about is the grass quantities. There is a grass called cheat grass, and since it is an invasive species, it will take over the grass’s land and end up killing most it. If a majority of the grass is gone, then that will wipe out the prairie dog population, therefore wiping out the ferret population too.
All of these problems also apply with the food web, but there are also predators of the ferret that we have to worry about, and that is why we need to make sure that when we are reintroducing the ferrets back into their habitats, we also have to train them to defend themselves.
An energy pyramid for a week’s supply of energy for a black footed ferret that I created is placed below.
C.H.A.M.D. 