Thursday, January 22, 2004
Saw what I think is one of the above creatures, a black mink, romping through my yard last night. So I'm wondering, if I were to grab-hold of that guy and peel him for my own purposes, would I incur the wrath of the PETA people? Also, how many more may be back there in those woods? I'm thinking potential gold mine here. Hmmmm...
Awww...don't get upset. I'm just kidding, but I would like to invite the fella in to share some of our spoiled rabbits' treats (that is, the rabbits are spoiled, not the treats). Maybe he'd let us pet him...must be so soft...and warm...good for glove lining...nono, none of that, now. Perish the thought, perish the thought!
I don't know that I would go pet the little guy. Minks are pedators and are related to otters.
I am not sure one can deduce mink behavior from otter behavior, but they seem awfully similar. We have a lot of otters around here. Playful cute little critters. You have to admire them for surviving in swamps with alligators and alligator snapping turtles.
Seems they manage to survive partly because they are smart, quick, and believe or not vicious.
Recently a curious retriever got too close to some baby otters, and the mother grabbed the dog by the nose, pulled it into the water, and drowned it. Mind you, the dog was easily twice the size of the otter.
I have a healthy respect for anything wild. (Well maybe not politicians and lawyers.)
Hey, you're giving away my secret! If anyone complained about me considering making gloves out of him, I was simply going to explain that I was taking the side of the groundhogs (another welcome denizen of our backyard) against what I understood to be a vicious predator.
Amazing about the dog and the otter, though.