Mink are stunning, beautiful mammals, and you are lucky to see them. I have judged and handled them, many many years ago at country fairs, before Fur farms were abolished. Ironically, the humble ferret are much more unpredictable, when it comes to being bitten! Since moving to North Wales though, I have yet to see one, or even signs of them in the wild.
American mink numbers are plummeting due to otters reclaiming our British waterways. During the 1980s, mink numbers in the U.K. were around 110,000, but recent figures have now put that as low as 40,000. Otters, it seems, are literally driving the American mink to extinction in the British Isles. Oh, and it seems they developed a taste for another invasive species. The American crayfish. Keep up the good work.
Interesting fact for you. American mink numbers for the UK during the 1980s were around 110,000, but it seems their numbers have plummeted since our river otters have started to reclaim the British waterways. Recent estimates have put mink in numbers in the U.K. at an astonishingly low figure of 40,000. This is now being put down to Otters ousting the mink out of their territories and even killing them.
