MINK: superb predator hated in its adopted homeland

DETESTED and feared in equal measure, the mink still possesses a number of admirable qualities despite being such an unpopular immigrant.

It swims well, climbs easily, and runs fast - making it a superb all-round predator able to take fish, fowl or other prey such as rabbits and voles.

A ruthless killer, it is perfectly adapted to survive harsh winters in the forests of North America but was introduced to our tamer countryside by fur farmers in the 1920s.

Kept in tiny cages, the first wild mink either escaped or were released when some farmers hit financial problems.

It was not too long before these American invaders were running riot in our woods and meadows, dispersing along rivers until they had colonised most parts of the country.

They quickly learnt to snack on our native wildlife, particularly the harmless water vole which has been driven to the edge of extinction as a result.

Fish farmers soon came to hate mink since their swimming skills enabled them to feast on captive trout or salmon, costing businesses thousands of pounds in devoured stock.

Most mink are a deep chocolate brown colour but some can be sandy brown or grey, a throwback to the different strains commercially bred to provide a variety of pelts.

Females produce a single litter of up to six young each year, usually in a hole in a riverbank or among rocks.

The male is slightly larger than the female, about 21 inches from the tip of his nose to the end of his thin furry tail.

This is much smaller than the 4ft otter yet swimming mink are often mistaken for otter.

Although now firmly established in the British countryside, evidence has emerged that numbers of mink are falling fast and are currently well below an estimated high of about 110,000 individuals just 10 years ago. One of the reasons for mink decline is thought to be the steady resurgence of our native, more powerful otter.

This equally voracious predator is actually killing and eating mink, some wildlife experts believe.

More mink are also being driven away from their hard-won breeding sites by territorial otters.

Animal rights campaigners have cited the mink as one example of non-native species being unfairly culled.

Animal Aid, the UK's largest campaign group, claims "top table conservationists" often scapegoat alien species such as the mink and grey squirrel because they threaten financial interests.

They may have a point but whatever the rights or wrongs of culling mink today, there is no doubt that human greed brought the animal to this country in the first place.

Human stupidity also created the perfect vacuum for it to flourish thanks to widespread persecution of the otter, now at last reversed.