THE OREGON SPORTS ivi AN 



Uo 



THE MINK, A VALUABLE FUR-BEARER 



BY 



STANLEY G. JEWETT 



The mink (Lutreola vison energumenos — Bangs) is one of th3 

 best known fur-bearing animals in Oregon. A full grown mink 

 is about twenty-two inches long, including the tail, which is seven 

 or eight inches. The slender, sinuous body, long neck, short legs 

 and dark-brown or chestnut coat, is rather a rare sight as the 

 mink swims or dives in a clear, deep pool along some of our trout 

 streams, because he is a sly, wary creature. 



The Mink. 



The mink is strictly carnivorous and feeds mainly on fish, 

 frogs and small birds and mammals which he catches in and along 

 the watercourses. He is an extremely powerful animal for his 

 size. Sometimes he invades the poultry yard and kills chickens. 

 He also hunts and kills animals equal to or greater than his own 

 w r eight, such as muskrats and rabbits. Mr. H. E. Anthony in the 

 ' 'Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History," Volume 

 XXXII, describes the method of hunting used by a mink. He 

 saw one in pursuit of muskrats in a beaver pond on Willow creek 



