While on that same TFN nature walk we stopped on the path above the jumble of limestone chunks helping reduce erosion around the inner marina bay to look at some grebes, coots and goldeneye. Suddenly a long, slender, sleek four-footed forager popped up to inspect us while on its prowls. It was too small to be an otter, too brown to be a winter ermine, and too big to be a weasel: It was a mink.
Feisty Weasel-Lookalike Pops Up Unabashed to Forage Despite Paparazzi with Cameras and Binoculars
There were about 20 people staring at this gorgeous creature as it darted into crevices and rolled back up and out. It moved very quickly in ripples like water over the rocks. It actually came towards the group first but shied off about 5m away.
Someone Spotted Wearing Luxurious Mink Coat at Colonel Sam Smith Park in Toronto ON
Luckily for us, who got to watch it, and for the mink, it’s no longer common to trap wild mink for their fur. Mink coats are noticeably less popular than they were in the last century. And farm-raised mink fur is now the most common the source of coats for people. (Nova Scotia, for instance, produced 700,000 mink pelts in 2003, according to the government of Nova Scotia agriculture website.) That could partly explain the lack of fear shown by this well-clad hunter.
You could see, even from a distance, that the fur was thick and it looked sleek and soft. The animal actually looked larger in diameter than what I remember mink looking like. I think that’s because this is my first “winter” mink. This one still had its extra warm coat to make life among the icy limestock blocks bearable.
Lots of Opportunities to Eat
This mink was probably a healthy weight and size for a reason: There’s lots of food for an aggressive, curious hunter at Colonel Sam Smith Park. Between Canada Goose and Mallard duck eggs and chicks, frogs, fish, small mammals and the occasional sandwich dropped by picnickers, there’s lots available to feed a hungry mustelid.
This Mink Was Solo
According to the PEI Dept of Agriculture and Forestry website, mink have kits in April or May. So it was too early to expect to see a Mama mink teaching her youngsters the finer arts of the hunt. We did see, however, another mink on rocks on the far shore, so there’s a good chance that someone will have 4-6 mini mink in the coming months!
I’ll have to try to go back later this year and see if we can spot them.
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Have you seen any mink that weren’t around a human’s shoulders? What were they doing? Please share your experiences with a comment.
yes looking at your photo of a mink,i am now sure that is what i saw in lee valley park essex england.i have two photos of it.
If you did see a mink in Essex, they are asking for reports of them at this website:
http://www.essexbiodiversity.org.uk/invasive-species/invasive-species-mammals
Apparently they are an introduced species and are causing problems.
Here in Ontario they are prey for coyotes, foxes and some other natural predators so they are not considered a problem.
Thanks for sharing your sighting with us!
My daughters and I saw such a creature today on Colonel Samuel Smith Park this afternoon! Again, it was quite close to a group of people and didn’t seem too shy. It darted into the crevasses between the large rocks that make up the water break it seemed to be hunting on. We thought it might be a weasel, but it looked exactly like your photos!
Cool! I’m glad you got to see a mink, too!
I saw a mink at the Rouge Park beach. He swam up to the rocks shook off the water and disappeared.
They do manage to vanish quickly when it suits them. Thanks for sharing your sighting!
I just saw another one at Guild Inn. This one was black. The other one was brown. What are the chances?! It’s good they are doing so well. :)
I suspect this is the time of year (other than winter) when they are the most visible as they are likely making the grown up kits move out on their own. The youngsters will need to find places to live which aren’t already “taken” by another adult. And they aren’t as good hunters so they are out and about longer.
I’m glad you’re getting to see them, though: not everyone’s so lucky!
I saw a mink today at the Toronto police marina on the harbourfront. It was running along the dockwall and then climbed down into the water and swam away. Your website helped me ID it – thanks!
Cool! I’m glad you got to see one of the Toronto mink. They are so fast they aren’t noticed all that often. Thanks for sharing your sighting!
Saw one today in East Humber park Definitely a mink.
They are fairly common along the Lake but not everyone notices them as they move so quickly in and out among the rocks and shrubs. Thanks for sharing your sighting!
Saw one this weekend during a waterfront walk on New Years morning, scootching around the shore rocks further along Lakeshore in Mimico (near Parklawn and Lakeshore). Stared at us like we were the day’s entertainment. Was trying to id what weasel it was, and your website helped determine the wee bugger’s lineage. Not the first I’ve seen, and hopefully not the last!
They can be very bold especially the ones just born in the last year. Thanks for sharing your sighting!
I was walking along the Credit River near Lake Ontario today (January 11, 2017) and saw a black mink race across the ground dodging between stones then leap into the river. He dove then came back up and swam across the surface. He dove again and I lost track of him. I was pretty certain it was a mink but after checking the web sites I am now certain. I also saw one last summer, a brown one this time, run along a walking path then leaping into Lake Ontario. Both were in Port Credit. A thrilling site
Yes, our mink do come in black and brown shades. They really move fast zipping along the shore: I hope yours found something to eat. Thanks for sharing your sighting!
Walking down in Port Credit Mississauga btw 11 p.m.- 12 a.m. on a Friday night as we were going over the bridge we saw two little creatures, who at first looked like Otters but you think really? Here?
So we Googled it & found your site.
I guess they were Minks, so cute & fast. What a nice, unexpected & memorable moment. Hopefully we’ll se them again sometime.
They do sound like Mink and I hope you get another chance to meet them soon. Thanks for sharing!
We did see them again!! ☺ we forgot to log it, but I believe it was in Oct just a few weeks after our first sighting. We often think about them in this cold weather…
We hope to see Kits in spring will keep you posted.
Stay warm!!
That would be wonderful!
River Otters are much much larger…think “beaver size”.. but longer and slimmer.
Yes, Ontario River Otters do exist in southern Ontario. I just saw one north of Newmarket on the E. Holland River in late March 2019. They are easy to ID with a cute, large face and button nose…and long tail ..with “ice out” they often come out and play on the ice..
The much smaller mink look quite different, but you can find River Otters in your area, but best around “ ice out” time. My other sighting was a few years ago, same conditions and season.
Good luck with spotting a River Otter playing and entertaining itself on the ice…runnng and sliding etc, it will give you a good chuckle and provide quite a show.
Thanks for sharing your insights and sightings!
My partner and I were canoeing on the Sydenham River in Owen Sound yesterday morning, and I believe we saw a dark brown mink swimming to the shoreline–it looked like a tiny bear with a long body. Long because, for the briefest of moments, we wondered if it was a snake because of how it seemed to glide through the water at its surface, with its long body, but the ears and fur were a clear giveaway ;)
What a great sighting!
I just saw a mink in my backyard in Oakville.
Now that’s a back yard visitor I wouldn’t expect to see! Thanks for sharing!
Picnicking by the lake in Mimico this afternoon and saw a lil brown furry friend dart from a pile of driftwood into the water. I think it was a mink. Matches description and pictures! Very quick, very brown coat and furry tail.
It very probably was a Mink as they are known to be along the Lake and the creeks in the area. Hope it didn’t steal your food!
Today I was walking in Hornby Park, near Milton, and witnessed 2 of these creatures. One was chasing the other, they were both wet & within feet of me! There was screaming going on; I assumed it was a territorial fight, and tried, unsuccessfully, to break up their fight by yelling at them in the weeds, again within feet of me! They seemed oblivious to my presence (and my Pomeranian!). This was by the riverbed at the park, near the lower ball diamond. Made my day…
That must have been quite an event! The younger ones don’t seem to be afraid of anything, so I wonder if one was trying to chase off a younger one from its territory? I guess they’ll know even if we never find out!
I have been living in Oakville east same place for 27 years and yesterday saw two creatures I have never seen in my backyard after some mental interrogation I determined they were mink. one was dark brown the other more on the brown greyish side. After attempting to get in my shed they ran down a burrow under my deck area so I guess they plan on being her for a while.
Thanks for sharing! If they aren’t using the burrow to live in, they may just have been hunting in it.
We have a beautiful mink in the garden in the snow today in North Burlington.
Due to some family concerns, I have removed your question though I hope you find the answer.
I just had a mink wipe out decapitate and suck dry 5 of my hens. Can’t figure out how its getting in the coup.
I am dreading what I will find killed tomorrow.
Sorry to hear. They are very good at sneaking through tiny spaces.
Walking along the shore of Lake Gibson in Niagara region we spotted a small dark brown animal we’ve never seen before; thought otter or weasel, but internet helped ID it as a mink. Didn’t know they have become so common. It was a thrill to have seen new wildlife for our “life list”. Lisa & Pete in Niagara., June 22, 2021
We saw two beautiful mink on the limestone rocks on the shore of Lake Ontario at Gairloch Garden’s park in Oakville today. Had to do some research to determine what they were but now we are happy to have seen them
Glad you were able to see some! They are quite fun to watch.