Samara's Mink Web page

Description

Habitat

Range

Food

Life Cycle

Survival

Facts

Human Impact

References

Links

Picture Provided by www.redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/Images/mammals/Mink.jpg

Mink

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Mustelidae

Sub Family

Mustelinae

Genus

Mustela

Species

Mustela vison

Description

Wild minks are dark brown.  Minks raised in captivity are bred to be white, black, blue, or silver-gray. They have a double layered coat. The top coat is made for being under water, while the bottom keeps them warm. Since they are in the weasel family they have long furry tails. They resemble a ferret minks They are usually a solid color, not mixed.

Picture Provided by www.huntington.edu/.../wildlifephotos/mammals/mink.jpg

Habitat

Minks mostly live in watered areas. These areas include ponds, streams, lakes, and marshes. 
Minks have their own territories reaching up to five square meters. Minks use sent glands in the center of each of their toe pads on their feet to mark their territory. They also leave part of their fur to mark their scent. Minks communicate with scents telling minks weather or not they are welcome. Minks live in abandoned beaver dams.  They switch dens about once or twice a year.

Range

Minks live in northern United States, northern Europe, and northern and central Asia. Only American minks brought to other countries or remaining here have the finest quality fur.  This fur is used to make clothing because of its high quality.

Food

A mink hunts underwater and land prey. The order in classification is Carnivora, meaning carnivore or meat eater. Underwater prey include crayfish, frogs, and minnows.  They have limited water vision. They spot their prey from land, and then dive in the water to get them. Land prey include mice, muskrats, rabbits and snakes. 

Life Cycle

When minks are born they have a litter of 2-10 babies. They are born during springtime and are raised with out the help of their fathers. Their mother teaches them how to hunt.  They are usually able to feed by themselves and reproduce at one year of age. When winter comes, they go off and find their own homes. They live solitary lives until breeding season. They live for 3 years. 

Picture provided by www.defra.gov.uk/.../vertebrates/images/mink-thumb.jpg

Survival

Minks survive by marking their territories and avoiding enemies. If it is challenged by a bigger animal it will stay and fight. During the mating season males fight over females often fight to the death. Part of a minks survival is based on avoiding predators. Black bears, wolves, lynx, coyotes, red foxes, great horned owls, and river otters hunt the mink. 

• In Europe, American minks have almost destroyed most of the European mink population.
• Some enemies include bobcats, foxes, and certain owl species.
• Minks are only in water for a very short period of time because they don't have the proper lungs and eyesight for swimming under water.

Humans have a negative impact on the mink survival. Humans kill minks for their fur to make hats, purses, coats and other clothing.   Early Tlingit Indian cultures thought that minks were possessed by spirts. They use to lay down rose branches, porcupine quills, or dog hair to chase the minks away. They believed this would exorcise the spirit. Some humans say the best sheared mink is a plucked mink. Because it keeps the fur continually soft and avoids skin particles.

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For comments or questions contact Bill Wight at  billw@sbschools.net