semiaquatic animals – Library of Learning Resources

Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera Neovison and Mustela, and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters and ferrets.

There are two extant (still in existence) species referred to as “mink”: the American mink and the European mink. The extinct sea mink is related to the American mink but was much larger.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mustelidae
Subfamily:	Mustelinae
Genus:	*Neovison* and *Mustela*

Would you like your students to do a research and reporting project on this mammal? If so, My Teaching Library offers the following product that will be creative by providing them with these pages to create a report on the mink.

Mink | Notebooking Pages
This is a cross-curricular resource that will require students to research and learn about the life of a mink (science), record and write what they have learned (language arts) and complete map work (geography).

Species

European mink Mustela lutreola
American mink Neovison vison

Size

The male weighs about 1 kg (2.2 lb) and is about 62 cm (24 in) in length. Farm bred males can reach 3.2 kg (7.1 lb). The female weighs about 600 g (1.32 lb) and reaches a length of about 51 cm (20 in). The sizes above do not include the tail, which can be from 12.8 centimetres (5.0 in) to 22.8 centimetres (9.0 in).

Color

A mink’s rich glossy coat in its wild state is brown and looks silky. Farm-bred mink can vary from white to almost black, which is reflected in the British wild mink. Their pelage is deep, rich brown, with or without white spots on the underparts, and consists of a slick, dense underfur overlaid with dark, glossy, almost stiff guard hairs.