Animal Tracks - Mink (Mustela vison)

Mink are mustelids - relatives of weasels. Mink are bigger than weasels and are aquatic. Mink weigh one to three pounds. Weasels are usually about half a pound. They eat fish, frogs, insects, mice, birds, and amphibians.

Mink have brown coats with a white patch under the chin. Weasels also have a white patch on the chest, but it often extends down the underside of the weasel.

Tracks can be found where the water meets the shore. Mink live near creeks, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes. Mink tracks show five toes on both front and hind feet. The front track often shows only four toes. Tracks are a bit more than an inch long.

Mink are usually nocturnal, but are sometimes active around dawn and dusk. These animals usually hunt alone. They do not hibernate in the winter. They continue to hunt, sometimes even traveling under ice that has formed on the river surface.

I found mink tracks once along a creek called Bull Creek in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California. They were almost perfect prints in mud. I made plaster casts of a couple of these. I have not found mink tracks in the park since then. They probably aren't as abundant in the area as otters. The tracks below were found just outside the park boundaries, along the Eel River.

Mink tracks found along the Eel River near Redway, California.

These mink tracks were found along the south fork of the Eel River in February, 2001. The site where these were found is the same site that is frequented by the family of otters that live near my place. It is uncommon to find mink tracks here. They are around, but are not often seen because of their nocturnal habits. Mink hunt near water. This photo shows a pair of overlapping mink tracks. The claw marks are barely visible on a couple of toes here. Early explorations of this area were driven by fur trappers looking for untrapped streams. They were followed by homesteaders and loggers. Mink were one of the furbearers found at that time.