Conservation & Ecology


American Mink


Tales of the riverbank


Non-native, invasive and capable of devastating the local fauna, the American mink has been blamed for decimating the UK water vole population. Regarded as the number one enemy on all waterways, it is believed that the only way to save ‘Ratty’ and many other indigenous species is to wipe out this aggressive and indiscriminate predator


112 I PC JUNE/JULY 2016 I


f you have water on your golf course or around your facility, there is every possibility that a mink is not far away and, if it’s the American variety, then devastation of the local wildlife will


follow, such is the ferocity of this member of the Mustelid family. Mustelids are regarded as some of the


‘cutest’ animals in the UK and include otters, pine martens, polecats, stoats, weasels ... and mink! Whilst most go about their daily lives in a fairly harmonious manner, the non- native American mink (Neovison vison) is a non-selective predator capable of killing many of our native wildlife, ranging from fish, amphibians, rodents and birds. As well as killing our wildlife, American mink also threaten poultry and game birds and can cause carnage in stocked fishing waters. They


are regarded as a non-native or invasive species. Following escapes and releases from mink


farms in the 1950s, American mink have had a devastating impact on our native fauna through predation of vulnerable species, especially water voles (Arvicola amphibius). The decline in water vole numbers can be directly attributed to predation by mink, which generally live and hunt near water, and can swim well. Female mink pose the greater threat as they are small enough to penetrate the water voles’ last line of defence; their burrows. They are curious creatures and will often


investigate tunnels, burrows and man-made objects, although there is evidence to show they avoid close proximity to humans. Mink mark their territory with distinctive


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