The return of the black-footed ferret
Read The return of the black-footed ferret, an IELTS Reading practice passage. The black-footed ferret (*Mustela nigripes*) is a small carnivorous mammal, similar in length to a domestic cat, and is the only ferret species native to North America. For at least 100,000 years they lived in an area th…
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The black-footed ferret (*Mustela nigripes*) is a small carnivorous mammal, similar in length to a domestic cat, and is the only ferret species native to North America. For at least 100,000 years they lived in an area that extended almost uninterrupted from southern Canada to northern Mexico. But numbers fell dramatically throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, to such an extent that the black-footed ferret was declared 'possibly extinct'. Then, almost miraculously, it returned from the dead.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- belie verb
To give a false impression of something, or to contradict a stated claim or popular notion.
Recent empirical data belie the assumption that these animals compete with cattle for food.
- captive-breeding programme noun
A structured conservation scheme where endangered animals are bred in protected facilities to prevent extinction.
The species was saved from extinction thanks to a successful captive-breeding programme.
- carnivorous adjective
Feeding primarily or exclusively on animal tissues or flesh; characterized by a meat-based diet.
The small carnivorous mammal preys on rodents to survive the harsh winter conditions.
- contract verb
To catch, acquire, or become infected with a disease, virus, or medical illness.
Wild populations can easily contract diseases if they come into close contact with domestic pets.
- disperse verb
To distribute, scatter, or spread widely over a geographic area or in various directions.
The population began to disperse across the continent after the last ice age ended.
- elusive adjective
Difficult to find, catch, track, or observe due to secretive habits, camouflage, or low population density.
Because they spend most time underground, these elusive creatures are rarely seen by humans.
- eradicate verb
To completely destroy, eliminate, or put an end to something, removing it entirely from an area.
Conservationists are working diligently to eradicate invasive species from the protected island sanctuary.
- extant adjective
Still in existence; not destroyed, lost, or completely extinct at the current point in history.
Scientists are studying the three extant species of this rare animal family.
- extermination noun
The complete destruction, systematic eradication, or total elimination of a population of living organisms.
The government launched an extermination campaign against pests destroying local agricultural crops.
- inextricably linked adjective
Closely and permanently joined or connected in a way that is impossible to separate or isolate.
The survival of the predator is inextricably linked to the population of its primary prey.