Britain's official guide to canals, rivers and lakes

Thursday 8th January 2009

Mink

Mink, courtesy of the Environment Agency

The American mink is now an established (though not universally celebrated) feature of Britain's waterways.

American mink first arrived in Britain way back in 1929. However, their long journey across the Atlantic ended at the commercial fur farms and it was not until the mid 1950s that Mustela vision became a common sight living wild around our canals and river banks.

Close up, American mink resemble something between a small cat and a ferret. They have a dense coat of deep brown fur, which often leads to cases of misidentification with the native otter. However, otters are shy animals unlikely to be seen during the day; quite unlike their confident American cousins who will wander the waterways at all hours. Mink are also smaller and slimmer than otters, factors which enhance their ability to hunt burrow-dwelling prey such as water voles.

Mink were first reported to be breeding wild in the UK in 1956, and today it is virtually impossible to estimate the number of mink resident along the many miles of Britain's waterways. These efficient predators are solitary animals who will fiercely defend their waterside territories when necessary. Males will sometimes allow females to make their homes inside their vast territories, but no male mink worth his salt would tolerate another male within spitting distance.

Facts

Appearance: Feral mink are naturally a chocolate-brown colour but farm-bred animals can vary in colour from white or grey through to black. Limbs are short and tails are approximately one third of their body length

Size: 42-65cm

Weight: 600g-1kg

Lifespan: Up to 8 years. Few survive beyond their second year in the wild

Diet: Mink are opportunistic predators who will happily eat a variety of fish, small mammals, birds and invertebrates

Family: Mustelidae

Did you know?

  • American mink are very adaptable and will even make their homes inside towns if a suitable body of water is available
  • Mink seldom roam far from the waterways. However, on occasion they may leave the water altogether in pursuit of land-dwelling prey such as rabbits - one of their favourite foods
  • The American mink has no natural predators in the UK
  • American mink are semi-aquatic and therefore competent swimmers
  • More surprisingly, they are very agile climbers