"IT'S TIME TO INTRODUCE SIDNEY"

Mink (North American) - 7 Photos

I have had one previous sighting of this "new" mink but unfortunately it was brief and from some distance. My only thought at that time was that it was big and was some distance from the river (albeit in a large pond). So I am thinking another male due to physical and territory sizes.

The day was drawing to a close and I was hanging out at a creek (a completely different area from the Sparky sightings), hoping to photograph some muskrats. I was just about to pack it in when upstream comes a semi-aquatic mammal just motoring through the water. My first thought was a beaver.

It dove under the water, splashed and resurfaced by a small fallen log in the water.

And there it was, that mink. At the time, I couldn't understand why it remained beside this small log for some time but in retrospect, I think it was looking for the fish that swam in and around the log, potentially easy fishing.

Eventually, the mink swam close to a beaver lodge where it encountered one of those "take no prisoners" muskrats. Now if I was a muskrat, no matter how big, I wouldn't think about challenging a mink and would be heading for safety but this muskrat wasn't intimidated. The muskrat eventually made the creek too uncomfortable for the mink and the mink took to the high ground and off to more lucrative areas.

A further blog will feature this tough muskrat, who after its confrontation, took time out to groom and stretch on shore, in the wide open. I suppose once you have defeated a mighty mustelid, your confidence level soars.

And I have named this mink, Sidney, a name that could be appropriate whether it is male or female (just in case). 

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7