American Mink
NEOVISION VISON
Minks can be found in most of the U.S. and Canada except for Hawaii, Arizona, Southern California, Utah, New Mexico, and Western Texas. Native to North America, minks have been introduced around the world by fur farmers. Their fur is soft and thick, with oily guard hairs that waterproof the animal's coat. Their body length is usually around 2 feet with up to half of this length being the tail. Mink diets vary depending on the season. During the summer it consists of crayfish and small frogs, along with small mammals such as shrews, rabbits, mice, and muskrats. Fish, ducks, and other waterfowl are also included. In the winter, they primarily prey on mammals. Mink are semi-aquatic weasels, and possess webbed feet to help them move smoothly and swiftly through the water. Two to three mink babies are typically born during the summer months and are called ‘kits’.
Click HERE for an American Mink Activity Sheet!
Our Current Resident
Ivy, Female - Born May 1, 2015
Ivy came to ZooMontana as a rescue from a private fur farm in 2015. Ivy unfortunately lost most of her tail in 2019 due to cancer but she loves playing in buckets of ice cubes or snow and sleeping with her stuffies.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Carnivora
- Family: Mustelidae
- Genus: Neovison
- Species: Neovision vison
Animal Facts
- Carnivore: eats meat such as mammals, waterfowl, and others
- Population: stable
- Habitat: Rivers & Streams
- Diurnal: active during the day
- Semi-Aquatic