Mink (Mustela vison) A wild male mink weighs about 1 kg and is about 60 cm in length. The female weighs about 600 g and reaches a length of about 50 cm. The tail can be from 20 cm long.
A mink's rich glossy coat in its wild state is brown and looks silky. Farm-bred mink can vary from white to almost black. Their pelage is deep, rich brown, with or without white spots on the underparts.
Mink show the curious phenomenon of delayed implantation. Although the true gestation period is 39 days, the embryo may stop developing for a variable period, so that as long as 76 days may elapse before the litter arrives. There is only one litter per year. They typically have between six and 10 kits per litter. The maximum lifespan of a mink in the wild is three years.
Mink prey on fish and other aquatic life, small mammals, birds, and eggs.
Habitats
Mink like to live near water and are seldom found far from riverbanks, lakes, and marshes. At Breeches, you will see mink along the lakefront, but seldom.
