Mink of Europe

The mink of Europe ( Mustela lutreola ) is a Vison; Mammalian Carnivorous, of the family of the Mustélidé S alive enEurope. It is a threatened species which already disappeared from most of its surface of distribution.

Description

Its morphology that typical of is mustilidés: flexible and slim body, short legs, head slightly flattened with the not very projecting ears.
Except for a white spot on the chin and the upper lip, peeling is brown dark uniform on the whole of the body (with the ends possibly darker).
Le male adult weighs 800 with 1000g and the female from 400 to 600 G.
Il is thus much smaller than the Vison of America which does not have a white spot with the muzzle.
Il is easily confused with the dark fitchet.

Habitat

Although it passes the majority of its time on the dry land, the Vison of Europe evolves/moves almost exclusively near water. This is why it is qualified sometimes semi-watery animal.
Il meets with the accesses of the Berge S, banks of Forêt-galerie and Ripisylve S of the small and average rivers, the length of which it exploits mainly the wooded areas, but one can find it in all the types of wetlands, even sometimes in very artificialized agrosystèmes (zone of truck farming). It uses the forest rivers , easily flooded timberings, the marshes, the wet meadows and the brooks crossing the agricultural zones.

Food

It nourishes Grenouille S, small mammals (Rat S and Campagnol S amphibians), birds, eggs and fish (Cyprinidé S especially).

Behavior

In period of rest, the mink of Europe uses Gîte S located at very the ground, safe from a dense vegetation generally made up of large tufts of Carex or Molinie, but also of Ronce S. the lodging can also be between the roots of a tree, in a burrow, under a stock of tree recépée, a wood pile… but always near an interstitial water zone. It practically does not dig a burrow even and prefers to him to use all the cavities at its disposal, including old burrows of Ragondin.

Territoriality: the Vison of Europe exploits a vital domain which extends on 2 with more than 13 km of river. The relatively sedentary females have territories more restricted than those of the males of which some were captured twice with 44km and 72 away km, having changed river and of catchment area. The coupling has in January place or February, and after a gestation from 35 to 72 days (possibility of differed ovo-establishment) the births take place from March to June with 2 to 7 young people who are nursed approximately 10 weeks and separate from their mother at the end of the summer. There is only one range per annum. According to the professor Thierry Lodé, the mink of Europe is capable of hybrider with its genetic close relative, the Putois of Europe and the hybrids prove to be fertile.}}

Surface of distribution

Formerly largely present and distributed in Europe, it is currently in strong decline.
En Western Europe, it occupies nothing any more but some French departments in Aquitaine and Poitou-Charentes, as well as a small zone of the North of Spain. It is undoubtedly about the French mammal of which survival is threatened, and this with very short term.

Threats

Several threats weigh on this species, and add their effects, explaining a rapid regression of the species;

Destruction of the habitats: the destruction or the drainage of the wetlands accelerated considerably in second half of the XXe century. It was undoubtedly very unfavourable with mink of Europe. The recent degradation of many natural environments (pollution, modification of the vegetation…) in addition resulted in a total fall of their capacity of reception for the species. Its position of predator located at the top of the food pyramid exposes it more than much of other species to the bioaccumulés pollutants (Heavy metals, Pcb, Perturbateurs endocriniens.)

Hunting and trapping: At the beginning of the XXe century, the trapping for its fur played an important role in the regression of mink of Europe. The species is protected since 1976 but of the animals are still sometimes destroyed accidentally by confusion with the Putois, the Ragondin or the Vison of America. In Brittany for example, mink the massive destruction campaigns of America probably played a big role in the disappearance of mink of Europe.
Dans departments where the fitchet is classified " nuisible" , there exists also a risk of misidentifying by the trappers, in particular with the Putois when it is of dark color (dark phenotype, to see work of Professor Thierry Lodé).

Poisons : The poisoning campaigns of rodents Déprédateur S (whose Muskrat and Ragondin S which has pullulated since their introduction in Europe a few decades ago) also constitute a quite real threat. The mink of Europe can poison itself by consuming rodents or other species not targeted by the poisoning campaigns but which consumed soft foods treated with the Anticoagulant S, and which constitutes potential preys for him.
En France, certain department, as the Charente, on the one hand prohibited the use of poisoned carrots, on the other hand proposed with the trappers to provide free their traps with a " trap doors with mink of Europe " allowing this mink to escape from it whereas the Coypu S and the minks of America are too large to pass.

Roadkill : Many road infrastructures are also fatal. Even if the full number of minks of Europe victims of mortality by road collisions is difficult to estimate, any factor of mortality being exerted on fragile and fragmented populations can lead quickly to an irremediable situation.

Fragmentation of the habitat and the populations : In the years 2000, several studies showed that the decline of the populations of mustélidés in Europe, and particularly of mink of Europe in the west of France east at least to some extent induced by the parcelling out of the populations, even where the medium apparently did not change, or overall not changed (cf Roadkill, pressure of the Piégeage, ecological Fragmentation, degradation of the rivers, Pesticide S, etc).

Protection

The Vison of Europe is one of the mammals more in danger in Europe and for this reason enjoys today theoretically a statute of total protection. At the European level, several protection plans were created, in particular in Estonia (followed by Tit Maran), in France (followed by Thierry Lodé) in Germany (followed by R Schroepfer).

The installation of écoduc S special known as “passages to minks” under the bridges is being studied in several sectors (zone Natura 2000 Vallée of the Antenne for example)

See too

Internal bonds

Mustélidé

External bonds

Random links: