Mink

For other uses, see Mink (disambiguation).

Mink
European Mink (Mustela lutreola)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	Neovison and Mustela
Species
Neovison vison Neovison macrodon Mustela lutreola

A wild American Mink, Lower Saranac Lake.

There are two different living species of mink. The American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but is much larger. All three species of mink are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and the otters. The American Mink is larger, and more adaptable than the European Mink. The American Mink's fur has been highly prized for its use in clothing, with hunting giving way to large-scale mink farming. Its treatment has also been a focus of much animal welfare activism.

American Mink have found their way into the wild in Europe (including Great Britain) and South America, after many were released from mink farms by animal rights activists. American Mink are believed by some to have contributed to the decline of the less hardy European mink through competition. Trapping is used to control and eliminate any feral American Mink.

For more detailed information on the differnt species of mink, see American Mink, European Mink, or Sea Mink.

Species

• European Mink Mustela lutreola
• American Mink Neovison vison
• Sea Mink Neovison macrodon (extinct)