{"id":13377,"date":"2019-12-16T06:30:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T11:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=13377"},"modified":"2019-12-17T10:05:52","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T15:05:52","slug":"take-5-mink-outside-the-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-mink-outside-the-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Mink Outside the Box"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

American Minks are members of the weasel family, averaging between 2 and 3.5 pounds, smaller than some of their cousins, Fishers and River Otters, but larger than others, such as ermine or long-tailed weasels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They share many traits with otters<\/a>, including webbed feet and a coating of oil to keep their fur waterproof. They are also semi-aquatic and carnivorous, eating mostly muskrats, fish, frogs, snakes, and small mammals. But unlike the more social otters, minks are loners and typically only meet up to breed and then part ways. They seem to share a bit of the otters’ playfulness, however, and can be spotted pushing through the snow or sliding down snow-covered slopes on their bellies. If you’re lucky enough to spot a mink in wintertime, it will likely be at dawn or dusk, as they are “crepuscular.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy these five photos of minks from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest and check out the recently announced winners of the 2019 photo contest<\/a> on our website!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American
American Mink \u00a9 Lauren Sullivan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Mink \u00a9 Jason Barcus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Mink \u00a9 Mark Lotterhand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Mink with Crayfish \u00a9 John Harrison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Mink \u00a9 Charlene Gaboriault<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American Minks are members of the weasel family, averaging between 2 and 3.5 pounds, smaller than some of their cousins, Fishers and River Otters, but larger than others, such as ermine or long-tailed weasels. They share many traits with otters, including webbed feet and a coating of oil to keep their fur waterproof. They are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":13416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,158],"tags":[273,324,83,84,325],"class_list":["post-13377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-take-5","tag-mammals","tag-mink","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography","tag-weasel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/12\/1579Mark_Lotterhand24296.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3tL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10878,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-otter-overload\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Otter Overload","author":"Ryan D.","date":"April 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"River otters\u00a0were once a rare sight in Massachusetts, but thanks to better wetland conservation, pollution reduction, and habitat creation thanks to those industrious beavers, their numbers are on the rise. And thank goodness for that! With their playful, athletic nature, otters can be a lot of fun to watch as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"River otter \u00a9 Joseph Cavanaugh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/04\/562JosephCavanaugh1799_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/04\/562JosephCavanaugh1799_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/04\/562JosephCavanaugh1799_fi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14642,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-you-musk-be-joking\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":1},"title":"Take 5: You Musk Be Joking!","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While they do belong to the order Rodentia), muskrats are not, in fact, rats at all (i.e. members of the genus Rattus). Plus, they're actually more closely related to lemmings than they are to their look-a-like cousins, beavers. The latter is a case of what is known as \"convergent evolution\"\u2014two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Muskrats \u00a9 Sylvia Zarco","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/09\/2851Sylvia_Zarco10205.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/09\/2851Sylvia_Zarco10205.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/09\/2851Sylvia_Zarco10205.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/09\/2851Sylvia_Zarco10205.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16653,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/my-funny-nature-valentines-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":2},"title":"My Funny {Nature} Valentine\u2019s 2022","author":"Ryan D.","date":"February 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Valentine\u2019s Day from Mass Audubon! Show your nature-loving sweetheart how much you care with one of these \u201cpunny\u201d nature valentines\u2014or better yet, share some love for our mission to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife with a donation. Share this blog, save the image you like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/2022-Valentines-Day-eCards-Bunnies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/2022-Valentines-Day-eCards-Bunnies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/2022-Valentines-Day-eCards-Bunnies.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/2022-Valentines-Day-eCards-Bunnies.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4482,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/mass-audubon-by-the-numbers-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":3},"title":"Mass Audubon By the Numbers: 2014","author":"Hillary T.","date":"December 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This holiday season we\u00a0have much to celebrate! 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For more on the year's accomplishments, check out our Annual Report. #1 is Mass Audubon's ranking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stuff We Love"","block_context":{"text":"Stuff We Love","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/stuff-we-love\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/12\/Stony-Brook_Camp_2014_Heather-Cooper-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/12\/Stony-Brook_Camp_2014_Heather-Cooper-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/12\/Stony-Brook_Camp_2014_Heather-Cooper-7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16024,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-eager-beavers\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: Eager Beavers","author":"Ryan D.","date":"July 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Aside from humans, beavers are the only mammal that alters their habitat to meet their needs, which they accomplish by damming streams to form ponds. This behavior actually benefits other species (including people) as well. Because of the flooding beavers create, trees often die off and the dead \"snags\" provide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beaver \u00a9 Lori Lynes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/07\/178Lori_Lynes20709-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/07\/178Lori_Lynes20709-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/07\/178Lori_Lynes20709-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/07\/178Lori_Lynes20709-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6962,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-porcupine-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":13377,"position":5},"title":"Take 5: Porcupine Portraits","author":"Rosemary","date":"February 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The name \"porcupine\" comes from the Latin words for \"pig\" and \"spiny,\" but these unusual animals belong to the rodent family. Their famous spines are special modified hairs that are barbed and hollow.\u00a0While these quills\u00a0may scare off most predators, the fisher\u2014our largest weasel\u2014isn't deterred: it's one of the few mammals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/01\/Lisa-Strout-2014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/01\/Lisa-Strout-2014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/01\/Lisa-Strout-2014.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13377"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13435,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13377\/revisions\/13435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}