American mink

American Mink
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Genus:	Neovison
Species:	N. vison
Binomial name
Neovison vison (Schreber, 1777)

"The American Mink" is a trademark of the American Legend Cooperative

The American Mink, Neovison vison, is a North American member of the Mustelidae family found in Alaska, Canada and most of the United States. They are related to weasels, otters, European Mink, wolverines, and fishers. They were once grouped with skunks although new genetic evidence suggests skunks should be classified in a separate family Mephitidae. A domestic form of American Mink has also been raised in fur farms for their lustrous fur, which is highly esteemed. Breeders have developed a range of colors from deep black to white. A related marine species, Neovison macrodon, was hunted to extinction in the 19th century.

Wild Mink Facts

Their long slim body is covered in glossy, thick dark brown fur with a white patch under the chin. They have short legs with partially webbed feet, which make them excellent swimmers. They can be found in wooded areas and fields near streams and lakes. They do not dig burrows, but instead take over dens abandoned by other animals.

Mink are semi aquatic predators able to hunt both aquatic and terrestrial prey. They can dive under water like an otter to capture fish, crayfish, and frogs. They can also capture terrestrial prey like birds, snakes, mice, voles, and rabbits. Mink are generalist predators focusing on what ever prey is most available and easily captured. These animals are mainly active at night and do not hibernate. Their predators include coyotes, Great Horned Owl, and wolves. They are also trapped for their fur. Their numbers have been reduced due to loss of habitat, the effects of pollution on their aquatic food supply, and the mixing of domestic mink genes into the wild mink gene pool.

They are usually solitary animals. Mating occurs during winter; males and females may have more than one partner. Females give birth to 4–5 kits per litter once 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 10–12 years. The mink is found in places which suit its habits throughout almost all North America, from Florida to the Arctic. An endangered subspecies, the Everglades Mink (Mustela vison evergladensis), is endemic to the Florida Everglades.

Fur Farms

Mink farm in Wisconsin

There is debate about the subject of fur farming. Many people argue that fur farming is cruel and should be eliminated completely. Others argue that fur farming is a necessary evil, because it protects wild fur bearers from over harvest. Before fur farming was developed many animals, like the sea mink, were driven to extinction due to over harvesting them for their fur. Many other animals like the fur seal, sea otter, river otter, and beaver had their populations drastically reduced from over harvesting. If fur farming were eliminated, the price of fur might increase. Wild fur bearing animals might again be in danger.

In recent years, animal rights activists have also released several thousand mink causing with environmental consequences. Domestic mink, which are bred in fur farms, are different from wild mink. Domestic mink are found to have 19.6% smaller brains, 8.1% smaller hearts, and 28.2% smaller spleens than wild mink do. Because of these physical differences, domestic mink may not be suited for life in the wild. A University of Copenhagen study found that most domestic mink that escape from fur farms die less than two months.

Mink that escaped from a fur farm in Cox’s Cove, Newfoundland, Canada

Domestic mink may have an advantage over their wild counterparts. They are larger than wild mink which may cause problems with the ecosystem when they escape. Mink are solitary, territorial animals and are intolerant of other mink. In times of overpopulation, mink control their own numbers by ether killing each other through direct conflict or by causing weaker mink to be driven from territory until starvation sets in. When hundreds or thousands of mink flood an ecosystem, it may cause a disturbance for the wild mink. This disturbance causes the deaths of the majority of the released mink and many of the wild mink. Most of the released and wild mink in the area die slow, painful deaths, caused by starvation, or from injuries from the unnaturally high number of mink fighting for a territory. When a domestic mink survives long enough to reproduce, it may cause problems for the wild mink populations. The adding of weaker domestic mink genes into wild mink populations, is believed by some, to have contributed to the decline of mink populations in Canada.

Feral Mink

Some American Mink have established themselves in the wild in Newfoundland, Europe and South America after being released by animal rights activists from fur farms. In parts of Europe, tens of thousand were intentionally introduced by the Soviet Union over a period of several decades, to provide a new game animal for trappers, with disastrous population declines of the European Mink as result.

The larger American male will mate with European Mink females earlier in the spring than the males of the same species; no offspring are born, but the females do not then breed again that season. This is believed by some, to have contributed to the decline of the European Mink. American Mink have also been implicated in the decline of the Water Vole in the United Kingdom and linked to the decline of water fowl across their range in Europe. They are now considered vermin in much of Europe and are hunted for the purpose of wildlife management.

Mink intelligence

Like their cousins, the otters, mink are very playful. They are very inquisitive, highly intelligent animals. A study was performed that compared the learning ability of mink to ferrets, skunks, and house cats. The animals were tested on their ability to remember different shapes. The order of ability of remembering these different shapes were from best to worst; mink, ferrets, skunks and cats. Mink were in fact found to be more intelligent than certain groups of primates. The learning curve for mink was found to be comparable to chimpanzees and rhesus macaques, with a rate of improvement only slightly slower. After considerable training, mink were also found to learn after only one trial. This is a phenomenon usually only observed in higher primates.

Mink as pets

Because they are so inquisitive and cute, mink appear to be an animal that would make a good pet. Mink are playful, and look similar to their cousins, the ferrets, so why would they not make good pets? The reason why mink do not make good pets, for the average person, is because they are highly aggressive, highly intelligent, and very active. Most people do not have the knowledge, or the patience to properly care for a pet mink.

Even though domestic mink have been bred in captivity for around a hundred years, they have not been bred to be tame, like the ferret has. Domestic mink have been bred for size, fur quality, and color. They have not been selected for tameness. So even though the average domestic mink is very different from its wild ancestors and can no longer survive in the wild, most domestic mink are still not as easily tamed as ferrets are.

The belief that mink are completely untameable is not true ether. Mink can be tamed and kept as pets, but it is a difficult process. Individuals with lots of time, patience, and experience with wild animals, have successfully kept mink as pets. When kept by the right person, mink can make very interesting pets. They are fun loving and very entertaining to watch and play with. No matter how experienced the person, mink owners must always be cautious and aware that a mink bite can cause severe damage. Mink jaws are very strong, and their teeth are very sharp. A mink can easily hurt a person, even when just playing. With these things in mind, mink can be successfully kept as pets but only by the right type of person. In Yahoo Groups, there is a group entitled PetMink for those who seek more knowledge on the keeping of mink as pets.

American mink in fiction

A mink which has escaped from a farm in England is the protagonist of Ewan Clarkson's novel Syla, whereas several mink in the same setting play the villainous invaders in A.R. Lloyd's Kine, where the hero is a weasel. The former is a naturalistic third-person narrative; the latter has some fantasy elements in that it features talking animals.

References

• Template:IUCN2006
• P. Hellsetde, E. Kallio & I. Hanski. "Survival rate of captive-born released Least weasels in Southern Finland." Mammal Review, 2000, 30:3/4
• Kruska, D. and Schreiber, A. (1999) "Compatative morphpmetrical and biochemical-geneic investigations in wild and ranch mink." Acta Theriologica 44 (4): 382.
• Kruska, D. (1996) "The effect of domestication on brain size and composition on the mink." J.Zoo.,Lond 239: 655.
• Hammershøj, M. (2004) "Population ecology of free-ranging American mink Mustela vison in Denmark." Thesis. University of Copenhagen
• Dunstone, N. (1993) The Mink. London.
• Bowman, J., Kidd, A., Gorman, R., Schulte-Hostedde, A. (2007) "Assessing the potential for impacts by feral mink on wild mink in Canada." Biological Conservation 139: 12-18.