• Home
  • Coniferous Animals
  • Coniferous Trees
  • About Coniferous Forest
  • Contact
Home > Coniferous Forest Animals > American Mink

American Mink

American minks are carnivore animals, equally active at both land and water. They are farmed to a mentionable extent because of their glossy fur.

American Mink

Scientific Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyMustelidae
GenusNeovison
Scientific NameNeovison vison

Quick Information

DescriptionSize: Males are 12-20 in (30-50 cm) with a tail measuring 6-10 in (15-25.4 cm)Females are 10-15 in (30.4-38 cm) with a tail sizing around 5-8 in (13-46 cm)

Weight: Males are 16-48 oz(0.4-1.3 kg)

Females are 16-32 oz (0.4-0.9 kg) with variations in different seasons, autumn being the heaviest month

Color: Mostly brown in the wild; white to black in captivity

DistributionNorth America
Subspecies
  • N. v. vison
  • N. v. aniakensis
  • N. v. aestuarina
  • N. v. evagor
  • N. v. energumenos
  • N. v. evergladensis
  • N. v. vulgivaga
  • N. v. lowii
  • N. v. nesolestes
  • N. v. melampeplus
  • N. v. lacustris
  • N. v. lutensis
  • N. v. letifera
  • N. v. mink
  • N. v. ingens
HabitatSwamps, marshes, along streams and lakes, forests with nearby water bodies
Sounds & CommunicationThrough chemical, visual and auditory signals

Hisses and piercing screeches when it feels threatened, emits subdued chuckles during the mating, creates a purring noise in happiness

Lifespan10-12 years
DietSmall frogs, waterfowl, ducks, fish, rabbits, and chipmunks
Adaptations
  • It has webbed toes that help them swim
  • The lean body is conducive to fast movement that includes escaping from predators and catching preys, it also helps in reducing the water resistance during the swimming
  • The body color helps them camouflage with the dusk when they hunt
  • Its heart rates are lowered when the creature is diving for conserving oxygen
PredatorsBirds of prey, bobcats, coyotes
IUCN Conservation StatusLeast Concern

American Mink Images

American Mink Size

Behavior

  • American minks are solitary and extremely territorial. Each one marks their area with a typical scent. Males tend to acquire larger territories than females.
  • They choose their den with twisted passages and entrances.
  • They secrete stinking liquids to ward off their potential predators.
  • American minks can kill animals larger than their size by biting off their neck. They are known to store the ‘extra’ foods for later.

Mating and Reproduction

American minks breed only once in every year. They mate between January to April when males fight amongst themselves for winning females’ attention. Males are harsh and ruthless during the mating that lasts for 10 minutes to 4 hours. After a gestation period of 40-75 days, females give birth to 1-8 kits within April and June.

American Mink Baby

American Mink Skull

Life-cycle

The kits are born blind and covered with silvery hair throughout. They feed on their mother’s milk for about 1 month and open their eyes after 4-5 weeks. After 1-2 weeks they are weaned and start looking for food all by themselves but remain with their mother until the next autumn.

Male American minks attain sexual maturity at the age of 18 months while females become mature for mating at 12 months.

American Mink Photos

American Mink Pictures

Interesting Facts

  1. The species has an ability to swim 3 hours at a stretch in warm water but dies within 30 minutes if the water is cold.
  2. It can dive down to sixteen feet into the water with proficiency.
  3. The American mink never uses the same den twice.
  4. Releasing of minks in numbers (invasive minks) has caused a wide population of the species in some places where it doesn’t belong, threatening other native animals of the region.

References

  1. https://study.com/academy/lesson/american-mink-behavior-habitat-facts.html
  2. https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/mink.htm
  3. https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/american_mink.htm
  4. https://animalia.bio/american-mink
  5. https://www.humanesociety.org/wildlife-land-trust

Published on December 21st 2018 by Sahana Kanjilal under Coniferous Forest Animals.
Article was last reviewed on 9th May 2023.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

80 + = 81

    • Recent Posts

      • Cedar Tree of Lebanon
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      • Black-backed Woodpecker
      • Eastern Gray Squirrel
      • Bohemian Waxwing
      • Norway Spruce
      • Douglas Squirrel
      • Northern Goshawk
      • Bighorn Sheep
      • Eastern Milk Snake
      • Ovenbird
      • California Redwood
      • Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
      • Foxtail Pine
      • Snow Goose
    • Categories

      • Coniferous Forest Animals
      • Coniferous Trees
        • Cedar
        • Cypress
        • Fir
        • Hemlock
        • Juniper
        • Larch
        • Pine
        • Spruce
        • Yew

© 2025 (Coniferous Forest). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

  • Privacy Policy