RIVERBANK STAKEOUT
Nothing upsets the balance of nature more than introduced species. Ecosystems have for millions of years evolved to function with the native wildlife they contain.
Suddenly plonking something alien into such a delicately balanced community almost always has a negative impact – it is like cramming the wrong cog into a carefully tuned engine and then expecting it to run smoothly.
Most of us have witnessed this first-hand with grey squirrels and the damage they cause to the woodland environment, but there have been numerous other harmful introductions in our countryside. These include ringneck parakeets, muntjac deer and of course mink.
Mink are mustelids, related to stoats and weasels, but significantly larger. They are predators that will take anything from fish to waterfowl and small mammals.
The type seen in the UK is the American mink (Neovison vison). Native to America as the name implies, these animals were brought
