Is there a creature in the watershed that you’d like to know more about? Send us an email if you’d like to suggest an animal for a future “Creature Feature” page. Emails should be sent to sbrookman (at) urwa (dot) org. We also welcome digital photos of animals and scenes within the watershed!

CREATURE FEATURE

American Mink (Mustela vison)

“Myth of the Cherokee: Why the Mink Smells The Mink was such a great thief that at last the animals held a council about this troublesome matter. It was decided to throw him in a fire, so they caught the Mink, built a great fire and threw him in it. As the blaze went up and they smelt him roasting, they took pity on him and thought that he had learned his lesson well- so they took him out of the fire. But the Mink was already burned dark brown and has remained dark brown ever since. Now, whenever he is attacked or excited, he smells again like roasted meat. This lesson did no good though, and the Mink remains as great a thief as ever."

This dark brown semi-aquatic predator can be found throughout North America, frequenting forested areas that are close to water. Here at Fairview Farm we discovered mink prints on the pond again this winter, verifying that streams, ponds and lakes with some sort of brushy or rocky cover are optimal territory for these sleek mammals. Weasel-like in body, the mink has short legs, a tail that is slightly bushy and dense fur with a white chin and white spots along its belly. Its semi-webbed feet makes it an excellent swimmer, and its toes end with small, sharp claws. With long whiskers, small rounded eyes and fuzzy ears, the males weight in at 2 to 3.5 pounds and are about 2 feet long and the females are about 20% smaller in size and weight.

Excellent hunters and swimmers, mink primarily feed on small mammals such as meadow voles and shrews, birds and eggs. They will swim and dive underwater to catch frogs, crayfish, fish, lizards, clams and freshwater mussels as well as small snakes, rats, ground squirrels salamanders and insects. They are true carnivores and eat just about anything they can catch! Mink depend mostly on their sense of smell when looking for prey and are solitary as well as territorial. Both male and female minks mark their territory with feces covered in scent produced by their proctodeal glands. They also secrete scent on the throat and chest area, which they rub onto sticks and rocks.

Mink have few natural predators and are occasionally attacked by fox, coyote, bear and owls. Like most mustelids, they are aggressive and fearless predators and will not hesitate to defend themselves against animals larger than themselves. However, they cannot defend themselves man – their most significant predator.

Since World War I, American mink have been raised on commercial fur farms where selective breeding can produce color variations such as pure white, completely black, silver-blue-gray and sapphire. Although the American Mink is not in severe danger, over-trapping can occur when fur prices increase. Additionally, American mink populations have been reduced due to over-development and loss of habitat, as well as the effects of pollution on their aquatic food supply and the mixing of domestic mink genes into the wild mink gene pool. Clean water and conservation of wetlands, rivers and lakes is crucial to the survival of these animals.

The female mink is promiscuous by nature and is capable of producing anywhere between 2 to 10 young, with 4 kits per litter being the norm. Only one litter is produced a year, with the 3-month breeding season starting in January. In about 8 weeks the young learn to hunt with their mother and then leave the nest, becoming sexually mature at less than a year. While mortality is extremely high in the early months of the life of the American Mink, animals that do survive the first year can live as long as three years in the wild. In captivity, mink can live 10 to 12 years.

Despite the fact that they are inquisitive, playful and cute, mink can be ‘tamed’ but do not make good pets because they have strong jaws and very sharp teeth. They can be highly aggressive and are very active. Most people do not have the knowledge or the patience to properly care for a wild mink as a pet.

For more information, please visit:

University of Michigan Mink Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Mink

http://www.nhptv.org/NatureWorks/mink.htm

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