#SpeciesSpotlight: Black-Footed Ferret Black-footed ferrets, the only ferret species native to the Americas, were thought extinct until a Wyoming dog named Shep found one in 1981. That kicked off an intensive search — and soon a captive-breeding program to recover them under the Endangered Species Act. This 2-foot-long, black-masked member of the weasel family once occurred in central grasslands and basins from southern Canada to Texas but they were almost wiped out early in the 20th century. No