How does the ferret weigh less than 1/50 of your weight to dominate the Water margin?

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From the 16th century AD, French, British, Dutch and Russian colonists on the North American continent began the fur trade with Eurasia. In 1803, the American government bought a vast area of Louisiana from the French, carried out the famous Lewis and Clark expeditions, explored the vast western borders, and joined the club of "Western Development" in North America. By the mid-19th century, before the California gold rush began, the "fur trade" had reached its peak.

At the end of the 19th century, a fur merchant in Alberta, Canada. Picture: C.W. Mathers and Ernest Brown / Library and Archives Canada

Behind the tide, the number of fur beasts supporting the fur trade has plummeted. The first to bear the brunt is the American beaver, and another major goal of fur hunters is the American mink (Neovison vison) we are going to talk about today. To this day, the American mink is still one of the most important and common fur animals in the world.

White chin from "stealing"

It's okay to call an American mink an American ferret. Martes and Mustela are members of the subfamily Mustelidae, while there are other groups in the family Mustelidae, such as Otter subfamily and Badger subfamily. The word "ferret" and "ferret" do not exactly correspond to these two genera in the use of the Chinese name of the species, such as the common pet ferret (blindfolded ferret M. putorius furo) and its wild ancestor, European ferret M. putorius. But generally speaking, the weasel in our eyes is petite and slim, with a thin tail and a pinch of hair on the tip of the tail.

The ferret of the genus Mustela (M. erminea) is consistent with the usual impression. Picture: Manfred Danegger / photoshot.com

Although the name is "mink", the American mink is actually more closely related to all kinds of weasel in evolution. Taxonomically, the mink did not become independent from the weasel until 1997. In appearance, the American mink is more like a mink, which is bigger and stout than the weasel cutie. The adult male weighs 0.9 to 1.6 kilograms and is about 60 centimeters long, while the female is 0.7 to 1.1 kilograms, 50 centimeters long, and has a fluffy, thick tail like a marten.

American minks are stronger and have large hairy tails. Picture: Igor Shpilenok / naturepl.com

As the name suggests, American minks like water, and their slender, streamlined bodies are suitable for drilling and swimming. The weasel also has a "traitor" European mink, which is very similar to the American mink and adapts to semi-aquatic environments, but is smaller. American minks are dark brown with only a white chin, while European minks often have white upper lips, which can be roughly distinguished.

American mink: "White chin is born, not steal food without wiping your mouth, thank you." Picture: Igor Shpilenok / naturepl.com

European minks forget to wipe their whole mouth (fog! ). Picture: Stefan Meyers / ardea.com

The winter fur of the American mink is longer, denser, softer and compact than the European mink, and it is replaced by short, sparse summer hair in summer. They are waterproof with greasy bristles and fine hairs underneath. Because of its large size and good quality, this cold and waterproof mink coat has needless to say killed the American mink in the fur trade. The larger mink (N.macrodon), which also belongs to the mink genus, once lived mainly on the Atlantic coast of the northeastern United States, but was hunted and killed by the fur trade in the late 19th century.

A waterproof mink of the American mink. Picture: George Sanker / NPL

There are chemical weapons! get back!

The typical habitat of American minks is the Water margin. They prefer stony riverbanks or lake shores with dense vegetation, as well as swamps. American mink is very territorial, female and male have their own territory, and there is almost no overlap between the same sex, but the overlapping distribution between the opposite sex makes it easy to flirt with each other. The two large anal glands behind the buttocks produce smelling secretions that can be used to mark territory and to frighten enemies when threatened, but not like skunks.

The vegetated shore is a favorite habitat for American minks. Picture: Leonard Rue Enterprise / Animals Animals

As long as they can live by the water, American minks do not care much about housing conditions, and caves on the riverbank, hollow tree stumps and so on are good choices. The cave dug by the American mink with its own claws is 90 centimeters deep and can be more than 3 meters long. there are several exits around the corner, and the innermost bedroom is covered with hay and leaves. They also take advantage of other animals' habitats, such as caves abandoned by badgers, muskrats and skunks.

It seems good in rotten wood, too. Picture: Erwin & Peggy Bauer / Animals Animals

Weasel bully, no one is afraid!

Although the weasel's close relatives look like minks, when walking on land, American minks and otters are somewhat similar, jumping forward and "back and forth". When they enter the water, they will "get water like otters." as long as the temperature is not too low, they can swim in the water for hours and dive to catch fish. American minks are as terrible killers as their weasel relatives, including fish, frogs, shrimp and crabs, small mammals and waterfowl. Not only that, in the face of larger predators, the American mink also dares to fight back, and the aura is powerful.

Catching fish is easy. Picture: Brian Bevan / ardea.com

Amphibians, no problem. Picture: Gordon & Cathy Illg / Animals Animals

In North America of origin, minks feed mainly on fish. But it is not uncommon for American minks to kill seagulls and cormorants with weasel's iconic "riding on the back and choking", especially for young waterfowls of the family Ranunculidae. Among mammals, rodents and hares are also often prey of American minks. In terms of evolution, the killer nature of the weasel family has something to do with their size: slender bodies are ideal for drilling holes to prey on a variety of burrowing prey, but they also have a larger specific surface area, allowing heat to dissipate faster. If you want to keep your energy balance, you have to eat more.

Big bird (northern boobies sub-adult)? I'm not afraid at all. Picture: John W Anderson / via GBNNSS

Can farming solve the problem?

The American mink's invasion of Eurasia is "attributed" to man's obsession with fur. The American mink, dressed in thick winter hair, does not sleep in winter and is ideal for hunting as fur animals. In the late 19th century, due to the increasing demand for mink skin, people began to raise American minks. By around 1965, there were more than 7200 mink farms in the United States. Until 1998, nearly 3 million minks were still produced each year. Because of their flexible nature, they often perform the drama of escaping from the farm.

An American mink that is staging the redemption of the farm. Picture: Paul Hobson / naturepl.com

The escape of farmed minks may seem encouraging, but it is actually a potential threat to wild populations. The size of farmed minks is generally larger than that of wild individuals, and driven by territoriality, the number of wild minks is likely to be reduced through competition for resources. The hybridization between farmed individuals and wild minks will also make the genetic information of the former mixed with the wild population. Due to the lack of genetic diversity and proper selection pressure, this "gene pollution" may lead to the "degradation" of the wild population, deteriorate its adaptability to the environment, and threaten the stability of the population.

At the beginning of the 20th century, American minks were introduced into Europe and South America, and they also invaded the wild due to the escape of breeding and the "rescue" of some animal conservationists. In the Eurasian "territory", the ecological position of the American mink was originally occupied by the Eurasian otter, and the two eating habits were very similar. After the invasion, the American mink turned more to prey on land in order to avoid competition for resources. Today, American minks spread across northern Eurasia pose a threat to native birds and small mammals.

An American mink caught in a trap. Picture: Andrew Harrington / naturepl.com

It is:

Picking up birds in the last nine days shows the nature of a killer, as deadly as a ferret.

Catching fish in the lower Wuyang is like an otter and looks like a marten.

This is the 250th article in the fourth year of the species calendar, from @ Lupin, author of the species calendar.

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