Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations PVC Rats: Muskrats and Mink

As you may be aware - I have Muskrats at the pond. Rex believes he saw one and demonstrated what he would have done to it with his pistol using my my PVC as an example, or was it a metaphor?...at any rate, this story has already been well documented. Weeks later I began to see cattails floating around the pond - all of them chewed off at the base - a sure sign of Rats. Yesterday I was working a shovel behind my HBC pond, trying to create a primary channel into the Main pond so it's not such a sloppy mess back there, and looked up the creek arm of the Main pond and saw a wake coming across the water about 100 feet away - swimming from bank to bank. I don't own a handgun, and never walk around the property armed, still I cursed myself for not having anything with which to dispatch this little varmit. I crouched down and decided to wait for it's approach - if I felt so inclined I suppose I could dive in and wrassle the little bastardo into submission. As luck would have it, here it came, hugging the shoreline and making a quick beeline right for my position. As it came within about 25 feet, I noticed it's tail was floating on top of the water, and was covered in dark bushy fur. Although I've never seen one apart from Field Books, I knew this was a Fisher or a Mink. It kept swimming and snaking it's long limber body up and around stumps, in and out of grass, oblivious of me and looking for a meal. Within about 10 feet of me he finally noticed something was out of place - namely, me - and he reared up and hissed at me. This thing was at best 2.5 feet long, and half of that was tail, but it still managed to startle me and I made an um, well...let's call it an involuntary astonished expression. That slight noise was all it took for him to turn tail, dive underwater for about 30 feet, then scamper up the bank and into the timber and grass.

I wasn't sure if this was a Fisher or a Mink, so I researched upon arriving home - verified this was a Mink as the Fisher is colored a little different and NE is out of their habitat range. What I saw was completely dark brown with no other coloration. I read that while Mink will take fish, crawfish, and birds, they actually are known for tackling prey much larger than themselves [they weigh in around 3-4 lbs] such as Muskrats. Apparently spotting a Mink is a fairly rare occurance as they are primarily nocturnal, solitary, stealthy and wary. Guess I was in the right place at the right time. It's rewarding to know that the habitat management practices I've put into place have created a new environmental niche for something as cool as a Mink. I can't see where a Mink could put a dent into my fish population, and if Muskrats are on their menu, I'm really happy to have him around.

I didn't have my camera with me [one of the only times it's not in my pocket - of course] but did post this pic below which is exactly what I witnessed. I suppose many of you in other parts of the country may find Mink sightings common, but around here they are notable.