The European mink is a little nosy animal, which is on the brink of extinction and is listed in the Red Book. No one can pinpoint the reason for the disappearance of this cute creature from the places familiar to him. Some scientists sin at the hydroelectric power station, because the mink lives near the reservoirs, but their numbers declined at the beginning of the last century, and then there were no power plants yet. If before the animal was widely distributed throughout the wooded part of Europe, in Western Siberia, the Caucasus, today it hardly ever occurs in its habitual area, therefore it is carefully guarded by scientists.
The appearance of the European mink
The European mink resembles a steppe ferret or an ermine by its appearance, but it is not so elongated and squat, and it is much denser. Its weight ranges from 500-800 g, the length of the trunk is 30-45 cm, and the tail is 12-20 cm. The pile is short, but very thick and dense, the sub-pond does not get wet in the water. Mink have a semi-aquatic lifestyle, so they have interdigital partitions. Fur, mostly dark brown, some individuals may have a rusty hue, they are also completely black. European mink can be recognized by the white chin and upper lip, sometimes bright spots are on the chest and throat.
Habitat of the animal
The main area of the animal is the forests of Europe, Western Siberia, and the Caucasus. Unfortunately, in recent decades the number of burrows has decreased significantly. Now they can be found in Western Europe, here and there in Poland, France, Finland. As for Russia, the Caucasian European mink was spread here, but today it is very problematic to find its tracks, it is classified as an endangered species and is listed in the Red Book.
Special relationship with the aquatic environment
A semi-aquatic lifestyle means that the European mink prefers to settle near water bodies. Favorite places of small animals are small cluttered running water reservoirs, hidden in the woods, they are approached by streams with gentle banks, forest streams with a slow current. Here mink find themselves reliable shelter and food. Such places attract them with coolness, high humidity, and they also give a sense of security, because at the sight of danger the animal immediately rushes into the water to hide from the pursuit. Mink dives, swim under the water surface, after 20 m emerges for a few seconds to breathe in air and again hide under water. They can even walk on the bottom of the pond. The flow for them is not dangerous, so they can live near the fast-flowing rivers with whirlpools, whirlpools.
Housing arrangement
Since it is dependent on water, the European mink also equips its dwelling near the ponds. The description of holes is almost monotonous, they are shallow, with two entrances, a lavatory and a main chamber, which is lined with dry leaves, moss, feathers of birds. Sometimes the animal borrows housing from water rats or other cunts. One of the exits from the burrow disappears in the forest more often, and the other leads to the pond. By the way, the second way the mink uses more often, therefore from it the trampled path stretches. In regions where there are a lot of tree-tolstomere, the animals are located in hollows, which are not very high from the ground. Temporary shelter they can find in haystacks, under canopies of steep banks, twisted roots, in piles of a windbreak. Mink carefully monitors the cleanliness of their homes, regularly cleans it from scraps.
Meals of European mink
This kind of mink feeds on all small animals that live in rivers or anywhere nearby. The basis of the diet is small fish, various amphibians, as well as mouse-shaped rodents. What exactly the animal eats, depends largely on the place of residence and the season. In early spring, it feeds on tadpoles and frogs, in winter there is only one hope for fish that suffocates in standing water, in the summer and autumn the diet is more diverse: frogs, fish, rodents, etc. During periods of starvation the mink settles near settlements, Poultry, pick up food debris, sometimes it is only the berries of mountain ash, cranberries, buckthorn.
Reproduction, care of posterity
At the end of winter or early spring, the European mink is particularly active. Pictures of animals running in the snow are not uncommon, because they at this time forget about vigilance, chasing the females. Near the coast, whole paths are formed, males fight among themselves, twist, trying to attract the attention of the lady. With the end of the rut, couples break up, the females raise their own cubs independently. Pregnancy lasts 45-60 days, usually 5 mink are born. Outwardly, they at first resemble black choruses, the real color appears at the age of six months. In the middle of summer the cubs catch up with the size, and by the end of the summer they compare with it. In autumn, everyone goes their own way, as the female stops giving milk, and the mink goes on a meat ration.
Characteristics of character
The European mink is very interesting by its nature. If she does not rest, she is constantly in motion, the greatest activity manifests in the dark. In the summer the animal leads a sedentary lifestyle, as it lives near a pond that feeds it and hides it in case of danger. But in the winter he has to tight, for a day the animal runs more than one kilometer in search of food. The European mink is characterized by excessive fussiness, it several times can look under the bush, relentlessly returns to the same place. She does this for a reason, because because of the large size she can not get into the burrows of the voles, and constantly sniffing and looking out for prey, has time to grab it.
Curious is the fact that the animal neglects the ready-made meat, preferring fresh fodder. In captivity, he can starve for a week before he touches the rotten food. Thanks to this habit, the European mink is almost never caught in the hunting traps. The Red Book has replenished this species relatively recently, but it is already on the verge of extinction. It is strictly forbidden to kill a European mink, but it is not enough to save it, it is important to preserve its natural habitat.