European mink  (Mustela lutreola)

A century ago the European mink could be found throughout the European continent but its populations have severely declined and it is extinct or greatly reduced over most of its former range (6). It is known to survive only in small numbers in parts of Eastern Europe and some areas of Spain and France (5).

Mink are semi-aquatic animals and inhabit densely shaded banks of lakeshores, rivers, streams and marshlands (6). They are rarely found more than 100 meters away from fresh water (7). One way to find Mink is to look for muskrat huts and burrows. If they are abandoned mink will simply move in, but they may also take over occupied huts, killing and eating inhabitants (2). Mink will also make dens in natural cavities in stream banks, under trees and in drift piles, lining them with grass, leaves, fur or feathers (7).