Everglades Mammal Profile: Everglades Mink

minkThe Everglades is home many mammals, including the Everglades Mink.

This fury creature is a small member of the weasel family and is one of three types of minks found in Florida. The Everglades Mink happens to be the only one that lives in south Florida. This type of mink is semi-aquatic, carnivorous and related to otters, ferrets, badgers, and martens.

An Everglades Mink has chocolate brown fur, a small head and tiny black eyes and ears. Its legs are short, it has a pointed muzzle, five partially webbed toes on each foot and it has a long bushy tail.

Its webbed toes help them swim easily in water while they search for food. A mink also releases an unpleasant-smelling liquid, like a skunk’s; it does this as a warning and also a marker for other minks to know of its presence. The minx will also squeal, snarl, and hiss if it is frightened.

This type of mink can grow up to 25 inches long.

You can find this mink in shallow freshwater marshes and swamps of the Fakahatchee Strand and the Big Cypress Swamp.

Everglade minks are known to grab prey larger than themselves. They are nocturnal and hunt for food on land and in the water; they enjoy eating small mammals, snakes, fish, and insects.

A mink is a loner and you won’t find it in groups usually. You can spot a minx in shallow freshwater marshes and swamps of the Everglades.

A female mink can give birth to three to six kits during the springtime. The kits are born hairless, but open their eyes and start growing hair around three weeks. These babies stay with the mother until the fall. Females stay close to the den, while males roam twice as far and visit other dens. Dens are usually found in a hollow log, or under tree roots.

The Everglades mink is no longer a threatened species.

Look for the Everglades Mink on a Tour

Although it usually comes out at night, there’s a chance you may still see an Everglades mink while on an airboat tour.

A great and safe way to see the variety of wildlife and vegetation in the Everglades is on a ride through the Everglades on an airboat with Captain Mitch

Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 800-368-0065  or visit our Everglades Airboat Tours page. Captain Mitch’s Everglades Airboat Tours are open seven days a week 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If paying by cash, adults cost $40 (plus tax) and children 12 and under cost $20 (plus tax. If paying by credit card, adults cost $45 (plus tax) and children cost $25 (plus tax).