Diel Activity Patterns of Mink, Neovison vison, Change with Habitat

Abstract

Using video traps, we tested the commonly held view that Mink, Neovison vison, are mostly nocturnal. We compared Mink passages during daylight and darkness in two habitats. Mink were significantly more nocturnal in uplands with streams and significantly more diurnal in wetlands. Assuming that uplands have a higher proportion of terrestrial prey active at night and wetlands have a higher proportion of aquatic prey, the observed difference in activity periods may be related to the difficulty of seeing aquatic prey at night and suggests a dynamic interaction between food visibility and diel activity in Mink.