Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
#8078516
02/16/24 08:48 AM
02/16/24 08:48 AM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718 Idaho, Lemhi County
Gulo
OP
"On The Other Hand"
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OP
"On The Other Hand"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718
Idaho, Lemhi County
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Over the years, I've taken hundreds of mink in all types of habitats, and with all kinds of traps. Mink have been a valued part of the annual harvest in a variety of locations. Certainly, a valuable furbearer to me. Here's a glossy young female just checking me out. This is a big adult male in July. Note the eartag. The mink populations were extraordinarily high among the southeast Alaska islands. My son, Valya, and I would annually catch more than 100 mink in December in SE Alaska. This is a radio-collar I used in central Idaho mink back in the 1970s to find out home ranges of the mink. I found that implant transmitters (into the gut cavity) worked much better than collars for following the mink. Hope you enjoy this week's Photo Phriday images. Jack
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: Gulo]
#8078572
02/16/24 09:55 AM
02/16/24 09:55 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,329 Wisconsin
RdFx
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,329
Wisconsin
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Thanks for posting Jack used to run long lines for mink 150-200 miles when mink were good prices.... bucks $50 a head and females $25 a head. Lots of miles and memories of various creeks, rivers, lakes.
RdFx
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: martyd]
#8078599
02/16/24 10:42 AM
02/16/24 10:42 AM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718 Idaho, Lemhi County
Gulo
OP
"On The Other Hand"
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OP
"On The Other Hand"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718
Idaho, Lemhi County
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Gulp. What was the home range you found if mink in your study ? I wonder if it varies from state to the home ranges ? Marty Mink home ranges vary tremendously depending on habitat quality. I always preferred to express home ranges in terms of miles of shoreline rather than square areas (sq. miles, hectares, acres, etc). Generally, adult males used 1.5 to 3.5 linear miles and adult females used 0.3 to 1.9 linear miles. Juveniles used much less, except during dispersals. I'm sure it varies state-to-state, and habitat-to-habitat.
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: Muskrat]
#8078726
02/16/24 12:40 PM
02/16/24 12:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718 Idaho, Lemhi County
Gulo
OP
"On The Other Hand"
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OP
"On The Other Hand"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718
Idaho, Lemhi County
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Beautiful pics. The ear tag is interesting. Lots of questions. When applied? How was mink originally captured? Link to any studies?
I've always loved pursuing mink and once I mastered the bottom edge set the chase only became stronger. Thought I was catching a few extra large mink til I was selling fur at Wiebkes in La Crosse one day and Dan asked me if I'd like to see some big mink. Sure . . .
A truck had just backed up out back and they were off loading whioe frozen Red River mink. Unreal. They looked like small otter.
The home ranges you gave are also very interesting. Quite a few mink down here in the Lower Wisconsin River valley. Would love to know what the density is here.
Good stuff, thanks for posting. I originally used the Monel metal ear tags. Got away from that and went to plastic tags; less problematic in freezing weather. Eartags were applied at all times of year. I captured mink in Tomahawk cage traps or barrel traps. For reference, see the mink chapter I co-wrote in "Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America", published by Ontario, Canada (The "Fur Bible"). The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska has a giant race of mink also. Pretty much all the ranched mink in the world have these genetics, making them much bigger than typical wild mink. The northeast coast (Maine, Nova Scotia, PEI, etc) used to have a giant species of mink that is now extinct. "Sea Mink" Jack
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: Gulo]
#8078729
02/16/24 12:42 PM
02/16/24 12:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718 Idaho, Lemhi County
Gulo
OP
"On The Other Hand"
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OP
"On The Other Hand"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718
Idaho, Lemhi County
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Sharon -
Many thanks for contributing your artwork to this thread...always appreciated. They're beautiful!
Jack
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: Gulo]
#8078795
02/16/24 02:07 PM
02/16/24 02:07 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,595 james bay frontierOnt.
Boco
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,595
james bay frontierOnt.
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Looks big i believe a lot of the ranch mink have that strain in their genetics. I remember speaking with "Doc" from NY at the FHA convention years ago. He got a few to ranch.Not sure if it was those or Mackenzie river mink,one of the two.. You can see why beaver houses,old or active are good places for mink sets.
Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: Gulo]
#8078821
02/16/24 02:30 PM
02/16/24 02:30 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,595 james bay frontierOnt.
Boco
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,595
james bay frontierOnt.
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This one was living under the bait shed.I squeeked him out for a pic. Notice he is looking up for the source of the sqeeky bird in distress,lol. I decided to cage him and re locate him to a safe place out on the trapline-he got a pass that year anyway.
Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: son-of-grizz]
#8078851
02/16/24 03:04 PM
02/16/24 03:04 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718 Idaho, Lemhi County
Gulo
OP
"On The Other Hand"
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OP
"On The Other Hand"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,718
Idaho, Lemhi County
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Where can someone get a copy of the book you mentioned? Best place is at the library. They are prohibitively expensive, but worth every nickel. "Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America" was first published in 1987 by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. It is the "Bible" when one is interested in furbearers. I don't know what it is currently selling for, but I imagine several hundred dollars. I see Abebooks has a copy for $367.99 for a "used" copy. Jack
Last edited by Gulo; 02/16/24 03:06 PM.
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Re: Photo Phriday 123 - Mink
[Re: son-of-grizz]
#8078855
02/16/24 03:05 PM
02/16/24 03:05 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723 Maine
Mac
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,723
Maine
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Great pictures. Great thread Mr. Gulo. Thanks to everyone for sharing. Mac
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