CritterChatter™ Blog
Minks in the Winter - A Nebraska Animal not in Hibernation
One Nebraska animal not hibernating this winter is the mink. Due to its natural tendency to live near water, the mink is found near rivers and ponds in the Omaha area all year round.
The mink is in the weasel family, which includes skunks, otters, fishers, martens and wolverines. Similar to its relative, the weasel, the mink is sly and known for being an aggressive predator because of its ability to easily take down other small mammals for food. With a long narrow body, short legs and a long tail, the mink doesn’t grow to be very big – with adult males growing to around 30 inches long and weighing around three and a half pounds and females being two-thirds this size.
A typical mink den is rarely found far from a river, lake or marsh. However, they may be found far from water while looking for their favorite food – rabbits. Their most active time is late afternoon to early morning.
During this winter season in Omaha, residents can look for holes in the snow – where mink may have pounced on voles – 4” burrow entrances in a stream bank or round, 2” tracks in the snow.
The primary reason why mink are thought of as a nuisance is their occasional break-ins of poultry houses where they kill or injure fowl – much like their relative, the weasel. Many say that minks only kill poultry when small rodents, rabbits or muskrats aren’t available for food. On the other hand, mink may do more good than harm by being near poultry houses. By ridding the poultry houses of rodents, mink are in turn protecting the fowl.
To help protect poultry houses from mink, closing all openings on the house that are larger than 1 inch with hardwire cloth, or wire mesh will help prevent them from entering. If mink are a consistent problem near animals or near fresh water, call an animal removal specialist like critter control. The mink is considered a furbearer under Nebraska state law and is therefore protected under certain laws. This comes with specific regulations that must be followed. Without a professional animal removal specialist it’s likely that regulations can be broken.
So while minks may not be a frequent problem for Omaha, it’s important that residents of surrounding near fresh water in Omaha watch to protect domestic animals and mink.
