Tickled Mink

The Rock Creek mink out for a swim.

A flash of brown fur, a gleam of teeth, and the American mink, one of the fiercest hunters on the prairie, has itself another meal.

Coal and Rock creeks support a huge variety of plant and animal life, and now we can officially add the mink. After a few on-foot observations of beaver works in the area around Horizon Avenue, The Friends of Coal Creek set a wildlife camera to see what we could see. 

Then late one night, a mink slinked in front of our camera and took its picture. Over the next several weeks it would return regularly, suggesting this area is its home base. Mink don’t hibernate and make their dens alongside waterways such as Rock Creek. They can live in abandoned beaver dams, beaver lodges, or muskrat dens (after they’ve eaten the muskrats, of course).

The Rock Creek mink working on its night moves.

Wild mink are known for their wiliness. They are semi-aquatic and will eat whatever they can catch (mostly fish, crayfish, and rodents but they’ll take a shot at birds, too) and are quick and smart enough to avoid predation. Mink also are extremely secretive; a local naturalist told me he spent years studying mink but rarely saw one. So it is with great pleasure that we can put this picture out to the public.

The Rock Creek mink on the first snow of the season.

The Friends of Coal Creek could not be happier to share some space with this little predator. Its presence not only demonstrates that the creek system is healthy enough to support such an appetite, but also I mean just look at that cuteness! Rock Creek could scarcely do better for a mascot that demonstrates the poise, savvy and intelligence it takes to make a living out here. We’ll be keeping an eye on the area in the spring. Maybe we’ll see some pups join the neighborhood.

Have you made an interesting wildlife sighting along Coal Creek? Log it in the Coal Creek Lives project on iNaturalist.