The American Mink
The American mink (Neovison vison), a semiaquatic species closely related to the marten, is native to North America. Wild mink has a black coat colour and a white spot on the lower jaw. Mink were introduced as fur animals in Norway in 1927, and only a few years later, escaped individuals had established a wild population in Hordaland. The mink is today found over most of Norway, as well as over large parts of Europe. Mink are found mainly along waters and watercourses, as well as along the coast.
Mink eat fish, crustaceans, amphibians, birds and small mammals. It happily takes eggs and chicks, and can destroy seabird colonies because it often kills many chicks during a “raid”. Great efforts have therefore been made to hunt or catch mink along the coast in areas where there are important seabird colonies.
