Unidentified critters (later identified) running on Manistee’s Riverwalk. Photo by Jennifer Devine.
Story by Jennifer Devine
In April I was meandering with the kiddos on the Manistee Riverwalk one unseasonably warm day. I had to tell the kids to stop as we rounded the fish-cleaning station of the Manistee Inn and Marina because it looked like two small brown cats were chasing each other. I didn’t want us to be in the middle of a possible tomcat fight. I snapped a picture as one critter scurried past us and into the gap between the seawall and sidewalk. The other stopped and curled its body as small as it could next to one of the wooden pillars sticking out of the sidewalk.
As we stood in awe, we turned to see the first one come out of a sidewalk crack and skitter toward the Inn’s marina. The second one took its shot and scampered past to join its friend. They snuck through the gate and down the steps to the docks before disappearing from my sight. I knew then these critters were not cats but minks!
I have heard a lot of people say that we do not have any kind of wildlife here on the river channel, but I very much beg to differ! Mr. MIBackyard swears he’s known about these critters since last summer. He said they must live in or near the water drainage spout that snakes its way from River Street to the channel. I mean, he was right about the ermine in the cabin last year, right?
Others that frequent the riverwalk have not seen them and suggest they’re muskrat. Muskrats these two were not. So, for another opinion I asked a local couple who park their boat at the Inn’s marina every August if they’ve ever seen the minks, and their eyes lit up! As the smiles spread across their faces, they confirmed they have seen mink on the docks and enjoy watching them every year while they visit their boat.
Mr. MiBackyard could be right, since the cutest member of the weasel family (Mustela vision) is often associated with water and has now been spotted several times – and not just by him. They can, however, live in drier woodland areas and urban settings if they have an area of thick dense vegetation to take cover and find food. Mink are small but mighty carnivores and feed on what’s available per season such as frogs, fish, muskrats, mice, birds, chickens, rabbits, crayfish and sometimes ducks, which are in abundance on the river channel.
A mink’s foot has five toes that are slightly webbed with semi-retractile claws. That combination lets the animals swim fast and dive up to 15 feet. Its claws let it grab fish and other slippery prey. Mating runs from February to about April and kits are born in late May. A female will have 1-8 kits per litter that will stay with her until fall, when they go off on their own. They can start breeding when they are 10 months old. A mink’s lifespan averages 4 years, making it possible that, yes, this little channel between bridges is home to mink … and you just might catch a glimpse, like we did!
Jennifer Devine has a passion for writing and plants. Living in cities and homesteading off grid has offered her family a myriad of experiences, memories and adventures as they utilize the natural resources Michigan has to offer within their crafts, cooking and more.
More stories by and about Jennifer Devine HERE
