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Mink
Nature Bulletin No. 136 January 2, 1947
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
William N. Erickson, President
Roberts Mann, Supt. of Conservation
MINK
Ask a young lady what she would buy if she had all the money she
could spend, and the list will usually include "a mink coat". She can get
a nice one for $5000. About half of the pelts so used come from females
and young males raised in captivity on mink "farms". Mink and silver
fox are the only two valuable furbearers that have been successfully
raised commercially. Farm-reared mink are darker than most wild mink
and the fur is superior in quality. The finest wild pelts come from
Canada and northern New England although mink are native to most of
this continent from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle.
Like its relatives, the weasel and the skunk, a mink will eject a stinking
musky fluid when in danger. Nearly as large as a small house cat, it is
much more slender, with a long snaky head and neck, small ears, short
legs, and a furry tail. Large males may be 24 inches long; females are
smaller. The fur varies from dull yellowish brown to deep glossy
brown, darker on the back and tail, with a thick soft under-fur mostly
concealed by the long glistening outer hairs. There is a white patch
under the chin and sometimes white spots on the chest and belly. The
mink does not turn white in winter, as the weasel does in northern
regions, but occasionally one is born snow-white or platinum and such
pelts are as precious as diamonds.
Mink are bloodthirsty killers. They usually live near streams, lakes and
ponds -- in muskrat tunnels in the bank, or in a hollow log, or under a
stump -- and in the Chicago area their tracks are everyday sights in the
snow or in the mud. Chiefly at night, they prowl the water's edge for
crayfish, mussels, frogs, bugs and small snakes or zigzag through the
woods and fields hunting mice, rabbits and rats, of which they kill a
great many. Once on a rabbit' s trail, he is doomed because a mink can
bound along at considerable speed, dodge more quickly, and follow him
into a hole. Excellent swimmers, they also catch many fish, but their
favorite prey is the muskrat. Where you find muskrats, you'll also find
mink.
Lady, if you can find $5000, you can have mink.
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