Mink confirmed

 

Aside from the fabulous Otters otter cam is proving excellent at recording other wildlife as well. Since its first placement the camera has picked up wood mice, muntjac, roe deer, badger, and fox. All these have already been recorded by the main camera in the hedgerow, but one species known to frequent the site has never been caught on camera, until now.

This month a mink has been recorded on otter cam. Normally cursed by conservationists and rightly so this species was last seen in 2005 on the site. At this time, a single brown-black individual was seen swimming across the river before hiding inside a hollow tree stump on the bank side. Although no mink has been seen either by myself or a camera since then Mink were definitely there, their presence noted by the footprints left in the mud.

Quite often Mink are mistaken for Otters but once you have seen both it is obvious which is which. An easy reminder is that mink ride high in the water, almost floating on the surface whilst otters sink below the surface with only the top of the head and tail visible.

Mink are not native to the UK. They were imported in 1929 for fur farming, escapes and intentional releases by animal welfare activists quickly led to a self-sustaining population. The mink released were from North America and not of the native European species and the native species such as Water Voles had no defence. The voles tend to avoid predation by hiding in their burrows but Mink are small enough to follow them in. They have been responsible, alongside habitat loss for drastic species threatening declines in Water Vole and are probably the main reason Water Voles are not found on the Warwick Avon at present.

The individual recorded on the camera is a sleek black mink and has been recorded on three occasions, it is unclear if it is resident on the site or like the otters move through the site. I have mixed views on the mink’s place in UK fauna. On the one hand it is a voracious killer decimating Water Vole and water bird populations whilst on the other it is a species just trying to survive and doing this well in an environment, we introduced it to. For vole populations to recover mink eradication is necessary and that is hard for any wildlife lover to countenance.  Should one species be persecuted to save another? The ethics are tricky. On a similar path I am more comfortable with the idea of not culling Grey Squirrels despite their impact on Reds. Aside from the squirrel pox issue these two species could coexist and the latest research regarding the impact Pine Marten have on Grey Squirrel populations. For Mink however there does not seem to be a natural way to control numbers, they seem to coexist with otters and especially on the Avon there is ample food for both species to survive without competition.

Whilst I was hoping that there were no longer Mink on the site but I cannot begrudge a living being doing its thing I just hope it moves on before the  Swans nest.