September, 1943 Brown & YEAGER: 
per pelt dropped from $7 for 1938-39 to 
$6 for 1939-40, table 5. Even after the 
drop in price, the mink remains, per pelt, 
the most valuable fur animal now occur- 
ring in the state. “hese prices may be 
considered low, in view of a value of near- 
ly twice as much during a part of the 
previous decade. Minks, with about 4 per 
cent of the total number of fur animals 
pelted, ranked third in the catch for the 
two seasons of the survey, table 20. 
Popularity.—Among trappers the 
mink is even more popular than the musk- 
rat, although the difference is slight. 
These two species constituted over 72 per 
cent of the annual catch and over 84 per 
cent of the annual value of all Illinois raw 
furs for the seasons of the survey, table 20. 
As would be expected, the popularity of 
minks among non-fur-takers is not so high, 
since by many farmers and sportsmen the 
species is considered in the light of its oc- 
casional depredation on poultry and game 
birds. Out of a total of 718 answers from 
fur-takers in regard to opinion of minks, 
only 8 favored fewer of these animals, 
and it is probably significant that 7 of 
the 8 answers were from the Black Prai- 
rie and Glacial Lakes regions, in parts 
of which poultry raising and hunting 
pressure are maximum for the state. It 
is safe to say that minks rank higher than 
opossums, weasels and skunks in general 
public esteem. 
Damage and Control.—The chief 
damage caused by minks has been indi- 
cated. Individual minks may indeed be 
destructive; we have a number of recent 
reports to this effect. Individual minks 
have been known to kill a dozen or more 
chickens in one night. Perhaps the great- 
est economic loss caused by the species is 
to muskrats. Dearborn (1932) found 
that in southern Michigan about one- 
fourth of the winter food of minks con- 
sisted of muskrats, which are also part of 
the summer diet, but the proportion 1s 
probably lower because of the greater 
availability in summer of other - warm- 
blooded prey. A number of trappers along 
the Illinois River, and one manager of a 
2,600-acre duck club and muskrat ranch, 
reported that they killed minks at every 
opportunity throughout the year. ‘This 
club manager reported finding 13 freshly 
killed muskrats, 2 mallards and a coot 
in one mink den. The muskrats were sold 
SURVEY OF Fur REsouRCE 
473 
for $1.90 each and the mink pelt for 
$12.50 (Yeager 1943z). 
‘Trapping is recommended as the best 
means of mink control. Minks, quite 
properly considered intelligent mammals, 
are rather easily taken in both trail and 
baited sets. Because of the high value of 
the furs, we strongly recommend that, 
where possible, control be postponed until 
the winter months. In the event that con- 
trol at other seasons is necessary, release 
of trapped animals at points where dam- 
age is not likely to occur may well result 
in a future income of several dollars per 
mink. 
Populations.—The annual mink catch 
for the period covered by the survey indi- 
cates considerable variation in population 
density by regions. The take of 0.95 mink 
per square mile in 1938-39 and 0.80 per 
square mile in 1939-40 represents a reduc- 
tion of about 16 per cent; for muskrats 
the reduction in take during the same pe- 
riod was about 25 per cent; for opossums, 
30 per cent; raccoons, 19 per cent; and 
skunks, 26 per cent. “he reduction of 14 
per cent in the value of mink pelts in 
1939-40, table 5, does not explain the 
reduction in catch, since any animal worth 
an average of $6 each, and which is as 
small and as easily handled as the mink, 
is captured by fur-takers at every oppor- 
tunity. Practically all experienced trap- 
pers interviewed were of the opinion that 
a steady decline in mink populations had 
been in progress for several years. Of the 
trappers expressing an opinion on the catch 
for 1938-39 as compared with that for the 
previous year, 55 reported an increase, 6+ 
no change and 112 a decrease; for the 
season of 1939-40, 55 reported an _in- 
crease, 64 no change and 156 a decline, 
table 11. 
The Glacial Lakes Region, with 2.69 
and 2.76 pelts per square mile for the two 
seasons of the survey, showed by far the 
heaviest mink catches. The River Bluffs 
and Bottoms Region was second, with 
catches of 1.70 and 1.20 minks per square 
mile. The Western Prairie (0.92 and 
1.22), Northwest Hills (0.87 and 0.91), 
the Gray Prairie (0.99 and 0.78), North- 
western Sand Prairie (0.71 and 0.97), 
Black Prairie (0.52 and 0.36) and the 
Central Sand Prairie (0.32 and 0.36) 
followed in this order, table 11. In the 
second season as compared with the first, 
