American Mink, Neovison vison
American Mink
Neovison vison
Vison d'Amérique
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Description :
Mink' fur color is dark brown, evenly distributed over all the body except for sometimes a white spot on the chin and on the chest.
Total length of up to 620 mm, with a long tail constituting 38-51% of its body length (130 to 210 mm) and small ears (15-20 mm).
An adult male can weigh up to 1, 25 kg and females 950 grams.
The feet are broad, with webbed digits and claws are not retractile. Like other mustelids, the American mink has two anal glands, which are used for scent marking.
Habitat :
Minks live near rivers and lakes, they are a semi-aquatic specie. They hunt during nightime and most of the day is devoted to toiletting and sleep.
It can dive to depths of 5.5 m to catch fish. Its eyesight is clearer on land than underwater, and less accurate than the otter, but it allows it to detect movement of prey.
Natural history :
Minks live an average of 3 to 6 years in the wild but can live 11 years in captivity.
They have a diverse diet, feeding on fish, frogs, snakes, crayfish, and also birds (ducks) and small mammals (voles, muskrats, snowshoe hare).
The mating season is in February or March. The young are born either in April or June, with litters consisting of four kits on average (2 - 10 range).
The American mink relies heavily on sight when foraging. Its eyesight is clearer on land than underwater. Its auditory perception is high enough to detect the ultrasonic vocalisations (1-16 kHz) of rodent prey. Its sense of smell is comparatively weak.
Distribution :
The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America.
Present in most of Quebec province up to James Bay and Labrador.
Bibliography and references :
Editing participants for this descriptive file :
Editing : Francois Hazel
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