Possible litter of seven wild black-footed ferret kits.

Endangered black-footed ferrets (BFFs, Mustela nigripes) specialize on prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for prey and use prairie dog burrows for shelter. In the wild, female BFFs produce 2-3 kits on average. Litters of 6 have been observed. At the Conata Basin, South Dakota, we observed an adult female BFF, named F05-183, with 7 kits. Data on space use by neighboring female BFFs suggest that F05-183 produced all 7 kits; alternative explanations are discussed. To our knowledge, this is the largest recorded litter count for wild-born BFFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]