Hi all, yesterday, travelling( hgv ) between Kirkintilloch and bishopbriggs, A803, I saw two animals, at first I thought they were weasels, or stoats, a third poked its head over a wall and decided against following its brethren across the road, I was down to about 10 mph , like I say I thought initially a weasel but they were completely black, with a slight browny patch above its eyes . Is it possible they were mink ?? Don't think otters, didn't get pics, definitely black orvery dark brown .
Thoughts? Scott
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Wildlife question !!!
(19 posts)-
Posted 7 years ago #
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Weasel tiny, stoat slightly bigger, mink furry as you might expect, otters big and very whiskery. Sounds like mink. Pretty vicious, you would not want to effect an emergency stop in the HGV to avoid them. Otters yes, mink no.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Don't you otter mink that it might weasely be something stoately differ- actually, forget it. (Hate that weasel/stoat joke truth be told)
Posted 7 years ago # -
So are mink a reasonable possibility in central scotland ? Was not an otter threesum, seen them often enough to know them , but mink !!!! In kirky?? Perhaps I should get a sticker for the back of my truck, I stop only for otters !
ScottPosted 7 years ago # -
@splitshift
There are mink in the Water of Leith even. They're everywhere now. Mass releases from fur farms by animal activists and now they need to be trapped and shot to keep native wildlife going.
Posted 7 years ago # -
American mink are a very definite possibility, especially given your description. They're quite common in the UK, unfortunately. They're an introduced species, typically escaped/released from fur farms, and agressive towards/outcompete native species. IIRC mink are one factor in the dramatic decline in water voles over the past decade(s). Like that other american immigrant the grey squirrel, if you catch one in a trap it's illegal to release it: you have to kill it humanely. Or I suppose you could run it over with an HGV...
I saw a mink on the shoreline at Aberdour once. I was quite disappointed because my first thought was that it was an otter. But after I'd watched it for a minute or two, it clearly wasn't :(
European mink are a different species, and are critically endangered in their main range which is north-eastern Europe. You won't see one of those on the A803.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Animal activists released mink leading to native species nearly dying out. Not too clever? Bit like the teacher who brought the hedgehogs to south uist in the 1950s and they ate all the corncrake eggs.
Not sure how to kill a mink humanely?
@cb, I have been in touch with JC and he thinks 7.5 out of 10 for your extension of the weasl stoat joke.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Try not to kill anything with hgv, quite chuffed it might be mink, even if it's an incomer!!
Once saw that inspector clusaue as well, he also had a wee mink , eh ? I'll stick to driving trucks ?
Saw a stunning otter next to Cromarty bridge, eating dead something, oblivious to me in the truck .
ScottPosted 7 years ago # -
Those animal liberationists did do good deeds now and then, e.g. I recall them burning down a research lab stuffed with obsolete but very well insured computers.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I've seen more mink than otters in the wild, unfortunately, although I did see an otter in the full-on former-industrial bit of the Port of Tyne at North Shields a couple of months ago so things are looking up.
Not sure how mink are supposed to be despatched humanely. I've heard it said that the recommended humane kill method for trapped grey squirrels is to stick them in a sack and hit said sack repeatedly with a shovel... A pal who regularly finds greys in his trap prefers to drop said trap into a barrel of water. Not sure either way is a particularly fun way to go, but both probably beat getting hit by a car, which is the most frequent cause of squirrel death I witness.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@PS
The ushering of grey squirrels into the next world has been a legally contentious issue.
I went through a phase of shooting and eating them (tasty, but small and very hard to skin) and found a head or chest shot with a serious .22 air rifle to be immediately fatal.
Posted 7 years ago # -
When we set up a squirrel trap (greys encroaching on our reds) we were told the only legal method to dispatch them was a blow to the head or shooting them (while they're still in the trap - unsporting but effective). Drowning them was specifically not allowed.
Posted 7 years ago # -
We also have the older edition of Joy of Cooking that has instructions (with illustrations) for skinning a variety of creatures including squirrels.
Posted 7 years ago # -
no comment
Anyone know what the poor thing on the left is ?
Stoat i think
Posted 7 years ago # -
instructions (with illustrations) for skinning a variety of creatures including squirrels
You'll get no work done today if you search youtube for squirrel skinning videos.
It would be a brave person who got a grey out of a trap and battered its head in. Nasty bite.
Posted 7 years ago # -
you need to buy them a drink first.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@Iain McR
you need to buy them a drink first.Anyone know what the poor thing on the left is ?
Drink-billed flatty puss?
Posted 7 years ago # -
Know a chap n Balerno shoots the squirrels not in a trap, sportingly, he shoots them from the trees in his garden. He then gives them to another chap who skins them and makes hats with the fur and eats the meat.
Posted 7 years ago #
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