Mink
Appearance
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Europ%C3%A4ischer_Nerz.jpg/250px-Europ%C3%A4ischer_Nerz.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/American_Mink.jpg/250px-American_Mink.jpg)
Minks are small, short-legged members of the Mustelid family. The mink is an aggressive mammal that is adapted to a semi-aquatic life. Mink live in swamps, rivers, marshes, lakes and streams in North America, Europe, and the far west of Asia. Mink have a life span of about 8 to 10 years. The common name 'mink' includes animals in two different genera on two different continents.
Diet
[change | change source]Minks are carnivores (meat-eaters). They eat small mammals (like mice, rats and muskrats), frogs, crayfish, fish, insects, eggs, and ducks.
Predators
[change | change source]Owls, wolves, coyotes, and bobcats prey on the mink.
Reproduction
[change | change source]The breeding season is April to May. It takes 45 to 52 days after mating for birth to take place. A mink litter normally has 6 to 10 cubs (kittens).