otter or mink

[mike birtles]

Had a walk along the ribble (church deeps) yesterday and spotted a mammal about the size of a cat it was a shiny chocolate brown colour all over, quite a wide face, (not weasel like). anyone suggest if it sounds like a mink or an otter? I got several closeup looks as it weaved in and out of the boulders below me.

[wunnus]

Mink look much more cat like and are usually very dark.

 

My guess would be Otter.

[Paul_D]

Well a Mink certainly looks very Weasel like - just a bit bigger. From your description of a wide head I'd go with an Otter too.

[Peter Waller]

What colour eyes?

[Nugg]

Wide face, sounds like an otter. Size of a cat sounds like a mink, unless a young otter but they are usually with an adult.

Did you see it in the water, a minks coat makes it more buoyant, therefore it is higher in the water than an otter, showing it's body above the water line, the otter swims more submerged often with only the head above the water. You are more likely to see otters early morning or late evening too.

 

Otter

http://www.go-fishing.org/upload/files/AmericanRiverOtter_08-By_the_water-Portrait-s2.jpe

 

 

Mink

http://www.go-fishing.org/upload/files/mink.jpe

[mike birtles]

not sure what colour the eyes were. all the pictures of otters ive seen have an off white chest, the animal I saw was shiny chocolatly brown all over. I never saw it in the water. The time I saw it was about lunchtime, the animal didnt seem at all shy, As I walked over the boulders it ran to the opposite end of the boulders, and then the other way when I returned, I repeated this several times until I had got a good look at it and was convinced it was an otter but I must admit that looking at the above pics it prob looks more like a mink.

[fenboy]

Cat-sized mammal... chocolate brown... in boulders at the water's edge... wide face...

 

Sounds like a cat to me.

 

Only joking. From your description, it's an otter.

 

Go back at dusk. They come out to play. Seriously. They romp around together as a family, bobbing up and down in the water and chasing each other. Also, if there are steep banks, you'll find evidence of "slides" where they do just that, apparently for fun.

 

Seeing an otter in the wild is more memorable than catching fish... or most fish, at least... sometimes.

 

Good to see 'em back. Hope they catch more than me.

[Nugg]

MMM otters are very wary of humans, mink cheeky beggar's will take your sarnies out of your bag while your sat there.

I'm pleased for you if it were an otter though.

[Peter Sharpe]

There wouldn't have been the slightest chance of you seeing it at such close quarters if it had been a wild otter, but there have been quite a lot of semi-tame ones released over the past few years. A mink will stare you out, with a "come on if you think you're hard enough" look in its eyes. I think that from the chocolate brown colour it has to be a mink.

[Peter Waller]

Where I live there are wild otters, truly wild otters. Provided I keep still they sometimes come incredibly close, ten feet or so, seemingly ignoring me. But for sheer cheek, blessed mink will come within a few feet and stare at me as if challenging me to a game of tag! Yes, I agree, probably mink.