mink

Either of two species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the weasel family, usually found in or near water. They have rich brown fur, and are up to 50 cm/1.6 ft long with bushy tails 20 cm/8 in long. They live in Europe and Asia (M. lutreola) and North America (M. vison). (Genus Mustela.)

They produce an annual litter of six in their riverbank burrows. The demand for their fur led to the establishment from the 1930s of mink ranches for breeding of the animals in a wide range of fur colours. In 1997 world production of mink skins was 26 million, which represented a 36% decline since 1986.

The European mink Mustela lutreola is in danger of extinction, ousted from its former range by the American species M. vison, introduced into Europe in the 1920s for its fur.