European Mink
Mustela lutreola (Linnaeus, 1761)
Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821
Family Mustelidae G. Fischer, 1817
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Extinct EX. Evidence of the presence of the species at the relevant time is rare and not certain. There is no reliable information about its existence after 1951-1952; International: IUCN-VU, BeC.
General distribution. The area of the European Mink embraced Europe (without the southern parts and without Scandinavia), reaching Western Siberia. Today the species inhabits about 1/5 of its former territory, mainly in Russia.
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. The European Mink is supposed to have inhabited the Danube islands and the shore in the regions of Svishtov, Ruse, Tutrakan and Silistra [1]. The information about a European Mink caught at the end of the 1930s in the marshes near Silistra [2] was based on a misunderstanding. The species was identified by Dr. N. Atanassov by the fur of an animal caught, according to the information, in the river Danube, to the east of Svishtov, in 1951-1952 [3]. According to unreliable evidence of local hunters, European Minks inhabit the Srebarna reserve (V. Popov, Inst. of Zoology, BAS, pers. comm.). In the 1980s, in Romania less than 100 furs were produced yearly [4]. The yield was mainly from the Danube delta. Today there is still a stable population there [5].
Habitats. The European Mink lives a semi-water borne life. It inhabits the banks of natural water basins with flowing waters and overgrown with vegetation, often marshy shores.
Biology. The individual section along the river valleys is between 250 and 2000 m. Its basic food consists of rodents, fish, also frogs and crayfish. It usually gives birth to 3-4, sometimes over 10 young [6].
Similar species. The American mink, M. vison and the Western polecat (M. putorius). It differs from Mustela vison by the large white spot over the muzzle and the upper lip; it differs from the Black polecat in the lighter colouring and the long tail (over 1/3 of the length of the trunk) [7].
Negative factors. Basically: the anthropogenic destruction of the shore habitats [8] and probably the pollution of the waters; in the past – commercial trapping for the valuable fur. The habitats in Bulgaria are in the southern periphery of the species area, an additional factor for the vulnerability of the population. Influence is exerted by the competitors, such as the American mink, the otter, and partly by the western polecat.
Conservation measure taken. The species has been protected in Bulgaria by law since 1962. It is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria, 1985, as probably extinct.
References. 1. Atanassov N., Z. Peshev 1963; 2. Petrov A. 1965; 3. Spassov N. 1985; 4. Saint Girons M.-Ch. 1992; 5. Kranz et al., 2004; 6. Lobachev Y. 1978; 7. Aristov A., G. Baryshnikov, 2001; 8. Maran T., H. Henttonen 1995.
Author: Nikolai Spassov
