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Species Spotlight- The American Mink 

 Photo credit: Roy W. Lowe

Mink are small, carnivorous (meat-eating), mammals. They are nearly always found close to water, and are considered semi-aquatic. They rely on habitats like streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds and riparian areas for all that they need to survive.

Mink are very secretive creatures. They prefer to stay hidden by rocks, wood, and vegetation while they move around looking for prey to eat. They are highly active at night and thus are rarely spotted. Rather than having one den, mink will move to a new den and intensely forage in the area surrounding it for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before moving on. Mink rely on 5 to 16 dens within their core territory. Dens can be made of old beaver dens, wood jams, root wads, and rocks. They often have more than one opening so that if a predator invades the den, a quick escape is possible.

Mink eat a wide variety of animals including fish, amphibians, small mammals, reptiles, crustaceans (like crayfish), and are quick enough to catch birds. Mink often use large woody debris in the water because it is a good structure to fish from and also provides cover while eating the day's catch. 

Female mink give birth to live young and have 2-5 kits (babies) per litter. Because many chemicals have been released into the lower Willamette River from industry and other sources, fish have become contaminated. Studies show that female mink eating contaminated fish have trouble successfully giving birth to and raising young. It is unknown to what extent these chemicals have impacted mink populations in the Portland Harbor Superfund site, but researchers estimate that toxins and habitat loss have played a significant role in reducing mink populations in the area.