mink home range

[mattduncan]

what are your thoughts on the range of male mink in a farmland type habitat

[lumberjack]

I think the old standard of 20 miles is bull,farmland or wilderness.Its long been my belief that the opposite is true,at least in my area.
A mink is such a proficient hunter that he probably never has to go very far for a meal.
I believe that when trappers arent catching a certain mink in one spot is because a kill the size of a rabbit or muskrat would be food for a mink for a week or so,and they are at the den site eating when many presume they are out on a trip (smaller food such as frogs crayfish and fish are done repeatedly for a cache? )
With that being said,I cant explain the set of tracks (usually a male) beelining down the middle of a frozen creek for quite a distance without ever poking his head in a hole or whatever.
Ive never tracked one for more than a few hundred yards,without knowing his point of origin,it would be hard to say exactly how far he actually went.
That was some hardy old timers that tracked mink for twenty miles,I get a kick out of that everytime I hear it.

[trappnman]

I find that every hole thing baloney also.

I think females have a relatively small range- couldn't hazard a guess, but When I find female mink tracks (I'm that good a tracker LOL..I mean very small tracks of course) I usually find a lot of them concentrated in a small area. If I can set up a run or hole with a 110- it usually connects next check (3 days).

Male mink- for sure longer routes. I'll see male mink tracks and then not see them for a week or 2. Granted- mink often come and go and leave no tracks...

I pretty much agree with lumberjacks post, but want to add that I believe mink- both females and males, but more os in males...shift ranges. That is- will run this watershed for a period of time, then travel miles to another and travel it for a while. Having a pattern of many watersheds, visited in who knows what order.

So- on one specific watershed- it would not be uncommon to be there one day and not return for auite a spell. I once, last year as a matter of fact- caught a toe pinched mink about 1 1/2 miles down the road and more than that creekwise from where I originally pinched him.

One thing I believe in- if a specific location attracts mink- it will continue to do so as long as it exists- and even then- I've found that if a spot was good and the structure changed- it still, in many cases remains a top spot.

[fishadict]

Just did some quick searches of some soft literature - DNR fact sheets, etc. Home range varies as one would expect, based on habitat, food, and season. NE listed male home range at 2.5 miles and female at 1 mile. A secondhand reference to a study in MT listed males at up to 3 miles and two females at 19 and 50 acres. Midwest information was scanty to not believable. Will try to get some better stuff next week.

fa

[trappnman]

There just are not a lot of studies available on mink. John Erb, MN furbearer biologist says its because although mink are neat and (hes a life long trapper/snareman) they'd be interesting to study- unfortunately- its hard to get funding just to satify curiosity...in other words- no money for wild mink.

Keep in mind, home range is not RANGE.....

[fishadict]

Steve - understood, but I think someone setting systems would want to set on home range distances to maximize contacts.

Scot

[trappnman]

fa- what I do is this- I pay no attention to ranges- I set locations that give me a certain set of habitat circumstances-

[trappnman]

one other thing to consider- how much of home range is overlapping?

I suspect quite a big. for example, on one little creek I've taken 4 big males this year from same location (2 traps with 15 feet)- was it home range for all- or were all wandering?

Something else that I've seen a few times- trap a location for several years- do ok...move up or down stream even 150 yards- mediocre location becomes GREAT location....

Which is why I don't even factor in ranges on mink. If the habitat exists- the mink will come.

I've taken over a year, 8 mink off of same location. Same location as a matter of fact where I got those 4 this year.

Doubles on mink at least as common as coyotes.

[fishadict]

Steve - I do as you - set on habitat. My preconceived notion is that mink are solitary - at least any that are not family units. Do you think that is true, or is my notion incorrect?

I think that we know that ranges overlap, based on multiple catches in a small area in a short time.

I have read that if trapping a river system, that you want to intersect the stream at intervals of a half mile to a mile. That is where knowledge of home range would be good to know.

As per usual, I now have more questions than answers. But that is part of the fun of it.

Scot

[mattduncan]

fa your last post explianed why i posted this topic i'd like to know about the most efficent spacing to set on a waterway but maybe my? is answered by steve when he says he sets on good habitat

[DaveLyons]

Steve I also took 3 mink off one location this pass season.

Have any of you used the B.E. set with great success??

Dave

[BK]

I understand,........ I'm like a broken record, (Steve and I have discussed this a time or two) and I think he may be right. But I do very well with the BE set and I'm quite sure it's because I like the aspects of the set and I've worked on honing my skills with it.
About habitat,....when I set up an area where it's good and the mink are there I do well right away as anyone else would. Yet some of my best locations that produce year after year are places with very little to offer except a vertical bank and food they might find in the water.

[trappnman]

fa- how is range measured? linear feet along a creek? Like the Hawiaians did- a pie shaped wedge from creek back? Combo?

THe factor in the food base of that creek.

I personally think- and studies have shown this tendency to be true- that range is based almost entirely on ease of living. In other words- good times support larger populations.

My own thoughts o nmink are this- if a creek is connected to others, if a creek has a good food base, esp if a creek has rats- there are going to be mink. Some years I'll catch 1, next yeari nsame location 3-5. One never knows. I do, like BK, have my GOOD spots where every year, I take 3-8 mink.

Family groups. Not like otter, but the litters stay together until late in the season. How tightly a knit group I don't know, but I've taken a lot of YOY or YOY/female doubles. Enough to think that they are running togeher. Later in the year- I can't say I see where two or more run together- its about always one set of tracks

[fishadict]

Steve - Not totally sure yet, as the information I found was referencing other studies. With fish, we work with polygons. I'll try to find out what I can this week. The Montana study was definitely an area with a distance listed across that area. That would make sense, since the animals don't always use just the stream - even though we concentrate our efforts there.

fa