An alternative household pet - the adorable yet fragrant ferret - has taken center stage in wildlife conservation news due to new efforts to save the rare black-footed breed of the species. Found only in North America, the black-footed ferret faces extinction due to the sylvatic plague, a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that has been killing off its primary prey, the prairie dog, with a 90 percent mortality rate. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prairie dogs comprise 90 percent of the black-footed ferret's diet, and the U.S. Geological Survey reports that dozens of animals in grassland ecological systems feed on them as well.
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机译：一种另类的家养宠物-可爱又香的雪貂-由于为挽救该物种的稀有黑脚动物而做出的新努力，已成为野生动植物保护新闻的焦点。黑脚雪貂仅在北美发现，由于鼠疫鼠疫而灭绝，鼠疫是由蚤传播的细菌性疾病，已经杀死了其主要猎物草原犬，死亡率为90％。根据美国鱼类和野生动物服务局（US Fish and Wildlife Service）的数据，草原犬只占黑脚雪貂饮食的90％，据《美国地质调查局》报道，草原生态系统中也有数十只动物以它们为食。
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