 |
CAPE WILDLIFE CENTER @2007
The young mink at the Cape Wildlife Center, about mid-way through his rehabilitation. |
The mountain of fur coats grew steadily as people responded to a July 4th Boston Globe newspaper article about the Cape Wildlife Center and the Coats for Cubs program. The story described the comfort an orphaned baby raccoon felt snuggled into a donated fur reminiscent of mom and explained how old furs are used to successfully rehabilitate young, orphaned wildlife. People with furs to donate appeared on our doorstep daily. The majority of the furs were mink—an ironic twist—since the center staff was caring for their first ever baby mink in the small mammal ward.
The half-pound baby mink came to the center from the Wildlife Clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The little fellow had been found in the road in Framingham, Massachusetts, and brought to Tufts. After three days of supportive care, the healthy baby was ready to leave Tufts' hospital and enter our rehab facility. The six to eight week old bundle of energy was a terror right from the start, a living testament to the fierceness of these little members of the weasel family. He was also the cutest little guy with his beautiful chocolate brown coat, snow white chin patch, and bright, alert eyes.
What do you feed a baby carnivore from the weasel family? A specially formulated milk replacer and baby mice sprinkled with bone meal and mixed with soaked kitten chow is the ideal mix. After a week of this nourishing baby food and a weight gain of nine ounces, he was ready for "toddler" food—more baby mice, cat food, and cut up mackerel. At the end of July he was moved to outside holding where his enclosure allowed space for a nest box, hollow logs, and a swimming pool. Live fish were released into the pool for him to catch, and, he was really good at it.
Minks inhabit a variety of wetland habitats, including lake shores, streams, river, and freshwater marshes where food is abundant. In the wild, mink will eat small mammals, birds, eggs, frogs, crayfish, and fish. They are fierce fighters and are able to prey upon animals much larger than themselves. Mink are capable of rapid, erratic movement on land, and their partially webbed toes allow them great maneuverability in water. Their favorite food is muskrat.
Fall Freedom
By late October it was time to return the mink to the wild. The center staff worked with Massachusetts Department of Fish & Wildlife to find a suitable conservation area for his release. Unfortunately, many wildlife management areas allow fur trapping, and the trapping season was about to open. This dangerous ground was definitely not an option for our little guy. Visions of all those mink coats came to mind. We had the power to make a difference in the life of one mink. He was released on private land where fur trapping is not allowed, an area that was also approved by the state wildlife officials.
 |
CAPE WILDLIFE CENTER @2007
Poised for freedom: The mink takes one last look at his caretaker as his transport cage door is opened; freedom is straight ahead. |
In a last ironic twist, a woman from North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, drove to the center and donated her mother’s mink stole the very day our mink was released. The center is hopeful that programs like Coats for Cubs will raise the public’s awareness that fur belongs to non-human animals, and if one happens to have a mink coat, our donation program is open year-round.
It takes 55 mink to make a mink coat, and after the privilege of caring for our little guy, even one mink’s death for something as frivolous as a fur coat is unacceptable.
Offsite Links
Posted February 7, 2007
