Research
Croose, E., et al. (2023) Mink on the brink: comparing survey methods for detecting a critically endangered carnivore, the European mink Mustela lutreola
Species European Mink
Facts about European mink
- English name: European mink
- Latin Name: Mustela lutreola
- Number of young: Three-seven, called kits
- Diet: Small mammals, amphibians, fish, aquatic crustaceans and invertebrates.
- Habitat: Requires river banks for food and shelter.
Global distribution and status
The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is critically endangered and one of the most threatened mammals in Europe.
Once widespread across Europe, the European mink now occupies less than 20% of its former range and is currently restricted to a handful of isolated populations in northern Spain/southwestern France, the Danube delta in Romania and Ukraine, and parts of Russia.
The main current threat to European mink is competition with the distantly-related, but invasive non-native American mink, following decades of sustained habitat loss and over-hunting. The European mink is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
European mink are medium sized mustelids with a long body, short legs, and short tail. Total length for males is approximately 38cm. Total length of females is 31cm on average. During winter, European mink have a thick, water-repellent undercoat.
The length of European mink is between 32-50 cm from head to tail and the weight can vary from 0.5kg (for females and juvenile males) to greater than 1kg for large males.
Their coat colour is glossy brown to almost black. The striking feature, which at first glance distinguishes it from the American mink, is the presence of a white-coloured upper lip. The white colour then forms the mask around the whole mouth. American mink only have white on their lower lip or chin.
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European mink ©Romain Beaubert
European mink require river banks for both their food and their shelter.
The European Mink is found in wetlands such as swamps, streams, riparian forests and wet meadows. European mink are solitary animals, only during coming together during the breeding season in February and March.
The diversity of the Europan mink habitats provides a variety of prey such as amphibians, small mammals, fish and birds.
The European mink's diet will vary according to season and availability of prey in each of the habitats.
Primarily solitary animals, European mink come together during the breeding season between the end of February and March.
The European mink doesn’t delay pregnancy like some other mustelid species and the females give birth to 3-7 kits after a gestation period of 35-42 days. The female will then rear the kits on her own.
Following decades of sustained habitat loss and over-hunting, the main current threat to European mink is competition with the distantly-related, but invasive non-native American mink.
The European mink is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Active programmes
Restoring European mink to the Romanian Carpathians
The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is critically endangered and one of the most threatened mammals in Europe.
FAQs about European mink
No, the European mink does not live in Great Britain and there is no evidence that it ever occurred in Britain, although it looks similar to the invasive non-native American mink, an extremely detrimental species outside of its native range, that was introduced to Europe and is present in Britain.
The European mink is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has suffered from the combined impacts of historical over-harvesting for its fur, habitat loss and degradation, and from competition from the introduced and invasive, non-native American mink.
The European mink was once widespread across Europe but because of human activities it is in danger of extinction. It is also an important indicator of healthy aquatic ecosystems that support an abundance of diverse aquatic life and are free of invasive non-native American mink.
Although they look similar, they are different species. They can be told apart by the amount of white on their faces — the European mink has white fur on the top lip, lower lip and chin, but American mink only has white fur on the lower lip and chin. The American mink also has a longer tail, which is longer than half its body length, compared to the European mink’s shorter tail. The European mink is native to most of Europe but the American mink is an invasive species and is threatening many native species, including the European mink.
Further reading
Article
A new vision for the critically endangered European mink
