#0061 · 🦊 mammals

American Mink

🇳🇱 Amerikaanse Nerts ·Neogale vison

LCleast concern 🦊 Mammals 📍 in the Netherlands (introduced)

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The American mink ( Neogale vison ) is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human introduction has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink is classed as a least-concern species by the IUCN. The American mink was formerly thought to be the only extant member of the genus Neovison following the extinction of the sea mink ( N. macrodon ), but recent studies, followed by...

base stats

NL sightings 2iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 27,062iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 2 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
27,062 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777 (249 years ago).
Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.