Heavy, sound-muffling snow fell from a gray sky as I walked along the bank of the creek. In front of me, a sudden blur of quick movement darted alongside the snow-covered bank. I instinctively froze in place as my eyes scanned the dense creekside, snowladen brush that spanned ahead of me. Moments later, the source of the movement came into clear view. A large, dark brown male mink emerged from behind a clump of ice-coated vegetation, and curiously turned to look toward me. Not recognizing a potential threat, the mink hesitated for a moment, then resumed its forward trek along the creek.
It’s not uncommon to see mink active during daylight hours when winter arrives. They have a high metabolism rate, and require plenty of food to sustain themselves. The frigid winter weather just accelerates their hunger, and the risk from daytime predators is vastly ignored by the urge to satisfy their appetite. For a mink trapper, more frequent periods of movement increase the chances of capturing a mink, and the arrival of a cold, snowy winter promises increased activity.
A few days earlier, the local television weather forecaster detailed the future forecast for a blast of cold artic air that would sweep down across the Great Lakes and dump feet of snow upon the area. To exemplify the
