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blowin · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:48 pm Post subject: fish-kill , mink or otter ?

Amazing -- salmon scooping out hollows to spawn in a river quite close to where we are . I have never seen that in real life before .
One was up on the bank , with its head missing . I gather that otter always eat the head first then work down . Do mink do that too ? It could have been either and I would really like to know which it actually was .
( No footprints btw -- it was up a mossy bank ) .

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Grizzley Bear! Very Happy

Would they grow on in your mates pond I wonder?
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blowin · Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:22 am Post subject:

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

I was sorry to see mink in the wild over here. I do not believe that there are the know-nothing, so called animal rights idiots over here to let them out. Like they did in the UK. They must be escapees. Evil or Very Mad

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roiphil · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 118 Location: Co. Limerick

seen a mink carry off a 2 day old piglet before now, that was in the UK, not seen any sign of mink where we are now though, are their mink around ireland Question

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gai · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 83 Location: Co Donegal

They're escapees. Any where that had a mink farm at some stage in it's history has them. They've been in the river which runs through our backyard for over 35 years. I remember them killing my pet rabbit when I was a child.

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

They are in the Barrow as well. I will be watching out for these blighters Twisted Evil

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jon · Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 26 Location: South of Cork

The same here in Co Cork. My neighbour trapped one last week.
Jon

admin · Site Admin Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 227

All up and down this valley .
Had first-hand experience of what mink can do to a pair of large Muscovy ducks and an equally large pet bunny a couple of years ago . I saw several and caught one that year . Haven't actually seen any since then, but have finally discovered otter in the same area . So maybe it is true that altho' otter aren't a predator of theirs , they are sufficiently territorial to drive the mink away . That would be excellent Very Happy

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liamdenn · Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 26

Hi
Just read this old post and thought I might be able to shed some light on it. It may well have been a mink or otter ir even a fox, dog or cat. In Jan the salmon will have spawned, they are called kelts after spawning. Now many kelts die after spawning and can be seen dead around the river banks. All it takes is for an opportunist scavanger to find it and its a free meal. If this same scence were to take place in the middle of summer then it is a very different story and would be very unnatural