{"id":8031,"date":"2023-05-03T16:35:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T14:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/?post_type=animal&#038;p=8031"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:06:12","slug":"european-mink","status":"publish","type":"animal","link":"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/european-mink\/","title":{"rendered":"European Mink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Taxonomy<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Phylum: Chordata \u2013 chordates\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Class: Mammalia \u2013 mammals\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Order: Carnivora \u2013 carnivores\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family:\u00a0Mustelidae &#8211;\u00a0mustelids\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Species:\u00a0<em>Mustela\u00a0lutreola<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 European mink<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conservation<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"zoo-animal-details\">\n        <div class=\"born-container is-default\">\n            <div class=\"inner\">\n\n                \n                    <div class=\"item\">\n                        <div class=\"icon\">\n                            <img srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pasaules-Sarkana-gramata-bistami-apdraudeta-suga.png 2x\" alt=\"\">\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"text\">\n                            IUCN &#8211; CR (Critically Endangered)                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\n                    \n                    <div class=\"item\">\n                        <div class=\"icon\">\n                            <img srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eiropas-ex-situ-programma.png 2x\" alt=\"\">\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"text\">\n                            EAZA (EEP) &#8211; yes                         <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\n                    \n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Distribution\u00a0and habitat<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">European mink used to be a widely distributed species in most of Europe. Now their distribution&nbsp;has been reduced by almost&nbsp;90%&nbsp;and European mink is found in only a few countries \u2013 Rumania,&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;and Russia.&nbsp;Successful conservation efforts have led to the reintroduction of the species in a small area of Estonia.&nbsp;Isolated populations are found also in North of Spain and France.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">European mink inhabits various wetlands \u2013 riverbanks, flooded forests,&nbsp;swamps&nbsp;and wet grasslands. They prefer habitats with thick vegetation.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17928\" style=\"width:600px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-350x175.jpg 350w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-580x290.jpg 580w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1-1160x580.jpg 1160w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba-eiropas-udele-1.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Adaptions<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Males and females are hard to tell apart, but males are slightly larger.&nbsp;Males weigh around 850 grams and are around 40&nbsp;centimetre&nbsp;long,&nbsp;females weigh around 500 grams and are up to 35 centimetres long.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mink&nbsp;has&nbsp;short legs and&nbsp;webbed feet. Together with water resistant coat and small ears mink are excellent swimmers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Latvia European mink can be distinguished from similar animals by evenly brown fur, small&nbsp;ears&nbsp;and white spots on&nbsp;upper and lower lip \u2013 no other markings are present. Invasive American mink&nbsp;(<em>Neovison&nbsp;vison<\/em>)&nbsp;has the white spot, but&nbsp;only on the lower lip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Diet<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minks are carnivores. They are not too&nbsp;picky&nbsp;and hunt various amphibians, small mammals,&nbsp;fish,&nbsp;crustaceans&nbsp;and birds.&nbsp;Elongated and wide head with strong jaws is suited for catching prey both on land and in the water.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minks are territorial and protect their space from other minks. In the winter when there is less food mink have larger territories than in&nbsp;the summer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Breeding<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Males and females meet only in the breeding season from January to March. Males can travel up to 70 kilometres to find females.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pregnancy lasts 39 to 44 days. European minks have one litter per year, usually in April or June. Each litter has two to five&nbsp;babies or&nbsp;kits.&nbsp;Kits are born&nbsp;blind, but they develop&nbsp;very fast&nbsp;and start to eat solid food after 20 to 25 days. Around 2 months of age kits start to join their mother to hunt. Female takes care of her young&nbsp;for about 10 weeks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kits reach sexual maturity the following year. The average lifespan of the European mink in the wild is usually up to 4 years, but in captivity it can reach as much as 10 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conservation\u00a0and threats<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">European minks are&nbsp;signifficantly&nbsp;affected by the&nbsp;destrucion&nbsp;of wetlands. Historically&nbsp;hunting for fur has had a&nbsp;significant influence&nbsp;on mink numbers, today most furs come from American mink in fur farms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American mink that escaped fur farms have become a dangerous invasive species&nbsp;in many countries. That is one of the main reasons&nbsp;for the extinction of the European mink in much of&nbsp;its&nbsp;historical distribution as well as a threat to many bird and mammal species.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>References:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maran, T.,\u00a0Skumatov, D., Gomez, A.,\u00a0P\u00f5dra, M., Abramov, A.V. &amp; Dinets, V. 2016. Mustela\u00a0lutreola. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T14018A45199861.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.2305\/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T14018A45199861.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.2305\/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T14018A45199861.en<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eaza.net\/eep-pages\">https:\/\/www.eaza.net\/eep-pages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/likumi.lv\/ta\/id\/12821-noteikumi-par-ipasi-aizsargajamo-sugu-un-ierobezoti-izmantojamo-ipasi-aizsargajamo-sugu-sarakstu\">https:\/\/likumi.lv\/ta\/id\/12821-noteikumi-par-ipasi-aizsargajamo-sugu-un-ierobezoti-izmantojamo-ipasi-aizsargajamo-sugu-sarakstu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-life-vison wp-block-embed-life-vison\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"qtfsULRbKc\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lifevison.fr\/en\/the-european-mink\/european-mink-ecology\/\">European mink ecology<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cEuropean mink ecology\u201d \u2014 LIFE Vison\" src=\"https:\/\/lifevison.fr\/en\/the-european-mink\/european-mink-ecology\/embed\/#?secret=U8cTDwIvL0#?secret=qtfsULRbKc\" data-secret=\"qtfsULRbKc\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smallcarnivore.org\/european-mink\">https:\/\/smallcarnivore.org\/european-mink<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2384,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","inline_featured_image":false},"animal-category":[38,36],"animal-filter-1":[],"animal-filter-2":[],"class_list":["post-8031","animal","type-animal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>European Mink - Zoo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/european-mink\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European Mink - Zoo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taxonomy\u00a0 Conservation\u00a0 Distribution\u00a0and habitat\u00a0 European mink used to be a widely distributed species in most of Europe. 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