Tracks of American Mink

Tracks of American Mink, Tuul Gol,

Feb 2011. © Brian Watmough

In his recent posting “A day west of the capital” Abu mentioned (and published a photo) of tracks found at the Tuul Gol, west of Ulaanbaatar. These tracks are not of Eurasian Otter as mistakenly believed, but most likely of American Mink Neovison vison (Abu's and Brian's second assumption). Thanks go to Michael und Annegret Stubbe for commenting on the ID.

Tracks of American Mink, Tuul Gol,

Feb 2011. © Brian Watmough

The non-native American Mink is occurring in many wetlands in Mongolia now. It is thought that the introduction it to Mongolia may be having negative impacts on native fauna of the region, however, no studies had yet been conducted to assess its impact.

Tracks of American Mink, Tuul Gol,

Feb 2011. © Brian Watmough

Tracks of American Mink, (compared to human footprints),

Tuul Gol, Feb 2011. © Brian Watmough

American Mink (photo taken in Germany)

© Axel Gebauer