How Lucky Can a Girl Get?

Yesterday after leaving work, I saw a mink lying dead on the side of the road.  I was in a hurry to get to a class, so I didn't stop to pick it up.   This afternoon, while out running an errand, I saw it was still there.  I was tempted to stop, but figured it had been there at least two days...might not be in the best of shape.

When I got back to work, I shared with Carrie that I had seen the mink.  "Did you bring it back?!?!" she asked.  No...and I told her why.

Well, not five minutes later, two of our wonderful volunteers stopped in.  "Hey - do you want a dead mink?"

How could I say no?  These fellas know how to treat a girl right!

So I went out and retrieved it from the back of the pick up.  What a beauty - very healthy-looking  (except for being dead) and robust...huge! 

Of course, Carrie and I had to do a photo shoot of it before bagging it up for the freezer.

The poor thing was COVERED with fleas and ticks!  Literally crawling with them.  I'd have thought that after 24 hours they would've abandoned the body, but they were still there.

A very good way to verify one has a mink is to look for the white chin.

But did you know they also have two white spots on their inner thighs?  I wonder if they indicate scent glands.  Hm.  Will have to do some research on that.

 

Minks have very small ears.  This probably helps with heat conservation, especially when swimming in frigid waters in the winter.

 

They also have partially webbed toes.  Their cousin the otter has fully webbed toes, because it spends so much time in the water.  Minks spend a bit less time swimming, possibly because they are very efficient land hunters and therefore don't have to catch fish for most of their meals.

So, many thanks to Bill and Mark for bringing us this wonderful specimen.  For now it will go into a freezer and hopefully we can get it taxidermied soon - it is too lovely a specimen to lose!