MINK!
Monday, May 4, 2009 at 2:59PM The North American mink is unfortunately becoming a common sight along the Water of Leith. In the past few weeks we have had 5 sightings of this unwelcome visitor. With so many birds beginning to hatch chicks I am sad to say it is a boom time for this ferret like mammal. One alarming report from Stockbridge suggested that a family or group of 5 mink were out hunting together!.
Sadly there is very little we can do to halt the action of mink or remove them from our river. Trapping and shooting is a costly and tricky activity in urban areas particularly as children may find the traps or domestic cats may enter by mistake. We do however keep an eye on their activity so do report any sightings to us - date, time of day, exact location and if possible grid refernce.
One of the most frequent questions we get asked is about the difference between otters and mink
Mink - generally have a long slim body covered in glossy, thick dark brown fur with a white patch under the chin, however they can appear grey or black. Adults are between 20 and 24 inched long and they have short legs with partially webbed feet, which make them excellent swimmers. They can be found in wooded areas and fields near streams and lakes. They do not dig burrows, but instead take over dens abandoned by other animals. They will hunt day or night. So if you see a mammal out during the day dark chocolate in colour and smaller than a cat chances are its a mink. See the following link for more info:
http://www.introduced-species.co.uk/Species/mammals/Mink.htm
Otters - are generally larger and nearly always much more elusive prefering to live alone and hunt at dusk and dawn. More of a milk chocolate colour with a paler underside they have large webbed feet and a thick powerful rudder like tail. They are fairly large up to a meter in length, so are more like the size of a dog. They dig their own homes call holts and feed more or less exclusively on fish. Otters are spotted fairly frequently on the river often by fishermen.
This is a picture of the Water of Leith otter taken in 2008 by Gerry
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Reader Comments (12)
I have just seen two youngish mink under the Telford Bridge, near Dean Village. Disappointed to see they fit the description for mink rather than otters!
walking across the bridge near b&q at warriston my wife and i spotted a mink swimming in and out of the reeds at the side of the riverbank. a fasinating sight ....
Mink seen swimming back and forwards across Waters of Leith on nothwest side of the Den Village bridge at midday on 10 Nov 2009
A mink climbed out of the Water of Leith in front of me today as I crossed the pedestrian bridge at Bell's Mills (South of Belford Road). It sat on a branch growing out of the side of the old stone wall on the north side, and I watched it for a few minutes. It was wet and so looked jet black, about 18" long. I realise now that it was a mink.
A couple of years ago I also saw an otter at the weir near the Dean Gallery . It was very close by, right at the water's edge and it looked round when we appeared. It didn't seem shy and was also much bigger, we thought it was a dog in for a swim at first.
My dogs spotted a mink on the opposite bank from the footpath, accessed by the stairs from Stockbridge. It appeared to be black and probably around 20" in length.
I saw a mink on saturday, running along the footpath at the shore on the water of Leith. It was broad daylight
in the open and was being chased by a little boy! a strange sight.
Mink active on the stretch around Bell's Mills, from Belford Bridge to the Art Gallery weir crossing, bad news for ducks & other water wildlife in the vicinity.
Saw a mink and could hear others in a bush beside the river just up from the weir at dean village towards belford where there is a bench.
I am certain I saw a mink yesterday on the dock at Rennies Isle. We have gold finches there so I just hope they aren't attacked
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Just to the west of Dean Village at lunchtime today caught sight of this fella: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpuddinonnabike/4834295142/
Not really happy about seeing him - okay so they're lovely looking animals, but knowing the damage they can cause to the native wildlife isn't terribly pleasant.
Saw about five mink in the Belford area today at around 4pm. Spotted them in the water at first and thought they might be otters but when seen on land they unfortunately matched the description of mink above.
28 July 2010