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Black-footed ferrets in the wild are susceptible to becoming prey themselves. Common predators of ferrets include coyotes (Canis latrans), badgers (Taxidea taxus) and great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Other predators can include bobcats (Lynx rufus) and hawks and eagles.
They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur. They have an average length of 51 cm (20 in) including a 13 cm (5.1 in) tail, weigh about 1.5â4 pounds (0.7â2 kg) , and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. Ferrets have been used in many broad areas of research, such as the study of pathogenesis and treatment in a variety of human disease, these including studies into cardiovascular disease, nutrition, respiratory diseases such as SARS and human influenza, airway physiology, cystic fibrosis and gastrointestinal disease.