Stephanie


Stephanie lives in Michigan and has three brothers and one sister. She likes animals. She lives with her mom, three brothers, and her little sister. She is the oldest out of her brothers and sister. She likes basketball sometimes and she also likes baseball. She likes art, band, and Social Studies. She used to live in Georgia. She wants to go visit her friends someday in Georgia. Her favorite color is yellow. She likes to read sometimes in her spare time. She has one iguana, one mouse, two birds (cocktail tails), three dogs, four cats, one guinea pig, and one rabbit. She is in sixth grade. She likes all kinds of music. She likes to go swimming, fishing, and camping. She loves to draw and make things.


Mink
Mustela vision

Physical Description: The mink fur is soft, silky, and thick. This mammal generally appears to be a deep brown color throughout the year, except for occasional whitish blotches on the chin, throat, and/or belly. The minks toes are partly webbed and relics from this animal's semiaquatic life. Although a mink has a slender body typical of all mustelid, it's considerably larger than any other members of this genus. It's similar in size and shape to a marten, but a mink has smaller ears, smaller feet, a less bushy tail, and a less prominent throat patch. The straddle is 9-6cm. The total length of a mink is 480-680 mm; tail length:140-220 mm; hind foot length:50-75 mm; ear height:15-25 mm; weight:600-1,300 g(1.3-2.9lbs.).

Food Diet: In the summer, the diet consists of crayfish supplemented mostly with frogs and small mammals; such as shrews, rabbits, jumping mice, and sunfish as well as a variety of ducks and other fowl.

Habitat:. This common weasel frequents streams, ponds, and lakes with at least some brushy or rocky cover nearby.

Behavior: During late winter, the (a) female mink enters heat and mates with one or more males. The gestation period varies from 40-75 days. The mink females eventually gives birth to a litter of 4-9 kits in April or May. The babies are wrinkled and pinkish but actually is covered by a coat of fine white hairs. After 5-6 weeks, the eyes finally open, and the kit begins supplementing its milk diet with meat provided by the mother. The juvenile makes its first kill between the 6th and 7th week, is self-sufficient by 8 weeks, and disperse from the natal den at 12 weeks. A female mink is physically mature when she becomes 10 months of age, and remains fertile for 7 or more years. The males achieve physical and sexual maturity at 10 months.

Potential Predators: A few mink, especially dispersing youngsters, are killed by coyote, red foxes, bobcats, and other large animals. Some owls, such as the great horned owl, are also a threat. The maximum longevity in captivity is10 years.


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