Habitat use and diet of the American mink, Mustela vison, in Argentinean Patagonia

M.A. PREVITALI; M.H. CASSINI; D.W. MACDONALD

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY (1987)

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 1998 vol. 246 p. 482 - 486

0952-8369

The American mink was introduced into Argentinean Patagonia for commercial farming and feral populations were established from escaped animals. Currently, nothing is known of the habitat preferences of American mink in this region. Here, we investigate this with a view to establishing which native prey are at greatest risk and to exploring the likelihood of interaction between these mink and one endangered native predator, the huillin. Our live-trapping yielded an estimated density of 1.5 mink/km of shoreline. On Victoria Island, scat distribution indicated that American mink favoured aquatic habitats adjoining wooded cover. Crustaceans comprised c. 80% of the diet. From these results it seems that competition between the huillin and American mink is likely. Considering the conservation status of the huillin, this possibility merits urgent study.