American Mink

I'm going to show this American Mink from 4 and a half years ago for Throwback Thursday. This little fella was spotted during a birdwatching program; I proposed that we consider the mink to be an honorary bird. 😄

American Mink were named due to their resemblance with the European Mink, though as mustelids go the 2 species aren't especially closely related. They are considered to be the top animal in the fur trade; fortunately for them, the mink coat market isn't strong enough for them to get hunted to extinction. In some ways it made them more widespread because they've been introduced to Europe where they're now considered an invasive species.

Though they will hunt in water and can swim pretty deep when they want to, American Mink are fairly versatile little predators. They can climb trees, and their streamlined bodies are well suited to going into burrows after rodents, rabbits, etc. They're generally considered nocturnal, so we were a little lucky to run into one mid-morning.

My impression is that this little fella had conflicting feelings about our presence, oscillating between being curious about us and being frightened of us.
January 21, 2018 at Duke Farms
Photo 13123137, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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