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Discover Natue: Mink Kits

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.

Kyle Felling was born in the rugged northwest Missouri hamlet of St. Joseph (where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended). Inspired from a young age by the spirit of the early settlers who used St. Joseph as an embarkation point in their journey westward, Kyle developed the heart of an explorer and yearned to leave for adventures of his own. Perhaps as a result of attending John Glenn elementary school, young Kyle dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but was disheartened when someone told him that astronauts had to be good at math. He also considered being a tow truck driver, and like the heroes of his favorite childhood television shows (The A-Team and The Incredible Hulk) he saw himself traveling the country, helping people in trouble and getting into wacky adventures. He still harbors that dream.
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