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Discover Nature (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Discover Natue: Mink Kits

KBIA | By Kyle Felling
Published July 31, 2018 at 3:00 PM CDT
Missouri Department of Conservation
Watch for American mink mothers with their kits near permanent bodies of water this week. Minks are chiefly nocturnal and aren’t social except when young are being raised, which makes this a great time of year to see them in the wild. ";

Discover nature in Missouri this week as American mink kits travel with their mothers along streams.

 

Adult minks are almost entirely brown with a white chin and white spots occurring irregularly on the throat, chest, and belly. 

 

At about two-feet long or less, adult minks are generally larger than weasels and smaller than river otters. 

 

Minks have musk glands that secrete a strong odor considered by many to be more obnoxious than that of weasels or skunks. 

 

Minks need permanent water and prefer woods nearby. They dwell along the banks of streams, lakes, marshes, and ponds, in bank cavities, hollow trees, and under tree roots, logs, or stumps. 

 

Minks breed from February to April, and birth an annual litter of four to five young in early May. The family will stay together until the end of August. 

 

Minks prey on numerous small animals, keeping their populations in check, and become prey, themselves, to predators such as great horned owls and coyotes. 

 

Learn more about American Minks in Missouri with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) online field guide.  

 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
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Kyle Felling
Kyle Felling’s work at KBIA spans more than three decades. In 2025, he became KBIA and KMUC's Station Manager. He began volunteering at the station while he was a Political Science student at the University of Missouri. After being hired as a full-time announcer, he served as the long-time local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on KBIA, and was Music Director for a number of years. Starting in 2010, Kyle became KBIA’s Program Director, overseeing on-air programming and operations while training and supervising the station’s on-air staff. During that period, KBIA regularly ranked among the top stations in the Columbia market, and among the most listened to stations in the country. He was instrumental in the launch of KBIA’s sister station, Classical 90.5 FM in 2015, and helped to build it into a strong community resource for classical music. Kyle has also worked as an instructor in the MU School of Journalism, training the next generation of journalists and strategic communicators. In his spare time, he enjoys playing competitive pinball, reading comic books and Joan Didion, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and listening to Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band.
See stories by Kyle Felling
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