Details
Neogale vison
A semi-aquatic mustelid native to North America. It has a long body, dark glossy fur, and hunts along rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coasts.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
American mink use rivers, lakes, marshes, wooded streams, and shorelines. Dens are made under roots, logs, banks, and abandoned burrows.
The body is slender with short legs and dense dark brown fur. Some individuals have white markings on the chin, throat, or chest.
They are mostly solitary and patrol shoreline territories. Strong swimming and diving allow them to hunt in water and enter narrow bank spaces.
They catch fish, frogs, crayfish, birds, eggs, and small mammals. Prey choice shifts with water level, season, and local availability.
Breeding occurs in spring, with litters raised in bank dens. Young later learn to hunt along water edges before dispersing.
Introduced populations from fur farming can become invasive, adding predation pressure to native birds and small mammals.
