American Mink (Neovison vison)
An agile hunter being spotted along the shores of ponds and rivers in larger parks around Montreal. American Mink is a semi aquatic species and swims and dives in the water.
| 🇫🇷 | Vison d'Amérique |
| 🇩🇪 | Amerikanischer Nerz |
| 🇲🇽 | Visón americano |
| Taxonomy | |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Mustelidae |
How to Identify
I identify the American Mink by its brown to dark brown fur and its thin, elongated body shape. When observing it swimming at larger distance, it looks very similar to a beaver or muskrat. Fortunately, the fashion of swimming is different as it lacks the typical tail movement of beavers or muskrats.
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Characteristics
| Length | 40-60cm |
| Weight | 0.7-1.5kg |
Where and When to Spot
I saw American Minks in two parks around Montreal: Rapids Park Lachine and Park de la Frayere. The animal can be active during the day and with a bit luck you can observe it hunting for birds and smaller mammals.
Observation Records by Park and Season
| Location | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parc de la Frayère | x | - | - | - |
"x" indicates the species was observed, while "-" indicates no observation. Lack of observation doesn't necessarily imply that the species is absent. Data is derived from our park visit journals.