Yesterday, I wrote about how I was bitten by a ferret that I was adopting. Today, I was bitten by a mink. The bite spot is very near the spot that I was bitten by the ferret. It seems that my left hand is really taking a beating this week. I’m imagining my doctors’ stare if/when I report this. I guess I have to since this bite has the potential to be a bit more serious. I don’t want to gamble with rabies no matter how small the odds.

How did this happen ?

I received a call from a homeowner here in the city (metro Detroit) that had found a young ferret in their yard and they didn’t know what to do with it. They asked around the neighborhood but could not locate the owners. Since they already had enough pets, they placed a call to the Humane Society. The Humane Society informed them that they are welcome to drop the ferret off but after four days, if still unclaimed, the animal would be euthanized. They didn’t want the animal to be euthanized so they called me. I didn’t want it to be euthanized, so I went to pick it up. It certainly won’t be hard for me to give away a young ferret.

Cute Ferret ? Nope, Wild Mink

When I arrived at the residence, I was greeted on the porch where the ferret was caged. I was told the young ferret was skittish and feisty. The owners captured the speedy guy by tossing bed sheets over him and then placing him in a cage. Quick and skittish could be understandable if he has been running to save his life from critters the past few days or weeks. Since this little guy was half buried in blankets and was in a frenzied state jumping around, I didn’t really get to check him out that closely. I placed my carrying case next to the larger cage, he hopped in my case and I shut the door behind him. One minute later, I’m saying goodbye, starting my car, and heading home.

While driving, the little fella came up to the front of the door cage and was looking out at me. He did look sorta strange I thought. A little too dark. I had never seen a ferret with so much black on his body … his eyes were different … his nose was dull …. this was really odd. I stuck my closed hand out to the closed cage door to see if he would sniff my hand through the gate and what is reaction would be. In an absolute nanosecond, he snapped his jaws at my hand and hit the cage door face first. Although he was stopped by the wire cage door, he was quick enough to nip and break the skin of my knuckles drawing blood. In this split second, I happened to notice his teeth. They appeared smaller and worn – not long and white as you would expect from a young ferret. At this point, it was overwhelmingly obvious that I had a wild animal. I hadn’t even considered this up until this point because….. well, I’m in the middle of the city picking up a “ferret”.

After arriving home, I searched the ‘net for information on weasels living in the wild. The weasels were close in appearance but just not quite right. I then started looking for information on minks (as a long shot) and was amazed by what I found.

Take a look at the first picture above. As he sits half buried in a blanket, this “ferret” looks a little peculiar but not enough to be alarmed about – especially since I had never met a mink before. Next time, I will know better. I realize that as people read this, they will mention that these animals are noticeably different.  In fact they are.  The minks colors, eyes, ears, teeth, toes and tail are all different.  But I hadn’t closely inspected the little guy and when your brain isn’t even contemplating the chance of seeing a mink, I guess it can slip by.  I’m embarrassed by the incident but I know it will never happen again.

What Now ?

What to do now? I know that I need to talk to my doctor or the health department regarding the bite. They are closed tonight, so I will take this up with them tomorrow. I know that I need to keep this animal (or better yet, have animal control keep it) for monitoring or destruction.

I certainly have no ill feelings towards this guy. He has been yanked out of his environment and forced to go for a car ride in a pet carrier. Understandably, he is not too happy. I even fed him a mouse tonight which provided a better viewing opportunity and photography session.

When I called the original homeowners who found the animal to report my findings, I now learned that one of them was also bit the evening before. Wish us luck in the coming days.

For those of you wondering, the mink poses a very grave danger to other small animals like rabbits, cats or ferrets. He is locked away with no access whatsoever to my real ferrets. I’m sure he will be out of my hands tomorrow.

Mink Photos

These pictures below were taken as I emptied the mink out of the pet carrier and into an empty garbage can.

Wild Mink 1

Wild Mink 2

Wild Mink 3

Wild Mink 4