Mink on the loose

[cannibalspinners]

still lots of mink running around the tweed where i fish

They take a lot of fish

[Ken L]

They take a lot of fish

Do they ?

They will certainly decimate the population of bankside birds and mamals but last I heared they don't take a lot of fish.

[robd]

Do they ?

They will certainly decimate the population of bankside birds and mamals but last I heared they don't take a lot of fish.

 

That's an interesting comment, now thinking about it I've never seen them 'catch' a fish, only eating them on the bank side. I now wonder if they pick up already dead/sick fish that have washed a shore rather than chasing and catching ? Certainly seen the decimating results on bankside animal population though.

[Anderoo]

I agree, more of a problem with birds and mammals than fish. The water vole population along the Windrush was almost wiped out by mink, now they're being trapped and the water voles are recovering well.

 

I saw a mink scare the crap out of a moorhen a few weeks ago on the Severn, it was a very narrow escape!

[cannibalspinners]

On my local river at the waterfall where salmon & seatrout gather , Mink reguarly wait for them , Go in to the white water & come back out with fish 2-3 times their size , THEY drag them yards from the river and eat a little part of them from behind the head , They then leave the fish and go back for another 1, I think they kill for the hell of it

[chesters1]

fish are the last thing on a minks mind once they kill or eat the dead or easy targets only then will they start fishing ,perfectly (and i admire them despite killing a few) formed for the job they do except they shouldn't be doing it here!

never seen a mink catch a fish but i did witness one catching duckling by jumping on it from the bank as it came close but mostly i see them foraging in the edges for dead fish

Edited October 26, 2011 by chesters1

[robd]

I saw a mink scare the crap out of a moorhen a few weeks ago on the Severn, it was a very narrow escape!

 

Reminded me of a youtube clip

Nigh on fearless. A few time I've thrown stones at them when they have got too close for my comfort, they just look at me and hiss with contempt. Little wonder that bankside life is so threatened. Looks like they're quick to learn an easy meal where the Salmon and Trout congregate as well.

[Tigger]

On my local river at the waterfall where salmon & seatrout gather , Mink reguarly wait for them , Go in to the white water & come back out with fish 2-3 times their size , THEY drag them yards from the river and eat a little part of them from behind the head , They then leave the fish and go back for another 1, I think they kill for the hell of it

 

 

 

That's total fabrication, only recently I actually witnessed a mink catch a small'ish dace and it struggled it's bo!!ocks off trying to get it on the bank. Once there it sat quietly and consumed the dace over a 20 muinuite period then went to sleep for an hour or so before moving on down the bank.

 

Ok, mink do damage but far less the the millinos of houshold cats allowed to roam freely and kill to satisfy their instinct, not to eat ! I know a chap who keeps koi carp and is fed up with the local moggies damaging his larger specimines and scooping out the little one's. He has to put netting over his ponds to stop them.

[Anderoo]

That's total fabrication, only recently I actually witnessed a mink catch a small'ish dace and it struggled it's bo!!ocks off trying to get it on the bank. Once there it sat quietly and consumed the dace over a 20 muinuite period then went to sleep for an hour or so before moving on down the bank.

 

Ok, mink do damage but far less the the millinos of houshold cats allowed to roam freely and kill to satisfy their instinct, not to eat ! I know a chap who keeps koi carp and is fed up with the local moggies damaging his larger specimines and scooping out the little one's. He has to put netting over his ponds to stop them.

 

Could be true:

[Tigger]

Could be true:

 

 

Pretty obvious that fish was on it's deaths door when the mink came across it. To sensationalise about things concerning animals is pretty stupid and does wildlife no favours.