Mink Sighting

[Tall Trees]

I have reports of a Mink having been observed for the past few months on a fairly regular basis near the County line in the residential area.  I wonder where it came from and this is right up there with reports of porcupines in Lupine Campground and Grouse on Mt. Islip.  We have several sensitive and endangered species in the Forest like Spotted Owls and Big Horn Sheep so it might not be to far flung that other species might exist here as well.  I heard a wild Turkey gobble one time at Apple tree Campground but was not able to locate it. 

[Joe Schmoe]

Maybe a Pine Marten?


As for Turkeys, we've seen them in abundance on Mt. Palomar for what that's worth.  They strolled right by the car in no hurry.

[RobertW]

[Jeremy]

I can't wait for feral pigs to make their way over here 

I've seen that marten a couple times on hwy two, both times within 100 yards.

The other day I found evidence of beavers, a first for me

[SkierBob]

yikes really?  I like bacon as much as anyone but feral pigs  are very destructive and invasive. It wouldn't be the best thing for the forest. 

[Wrightwood]

Off the Mink Sighting topic...
Last July a few of us from the Fire Safe Council attended a field trip to the Descanso Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest (NF), where several sites were visited covering the current wild pig situation on the NF.  They found the guy who intentionally released pigs into the wild for hunting purposes and a few years later large areas of forest look like a war zone.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5313597.pdf

[Jeremy]

I wouldnt introduce any non native species but i would enjoy the hunting.

Afaik there are not many pigs in cleveland nf public land. If so, give me some coordinates and let me know how much bacon you want.

[Tall Trees]

My neighbors have been trying to trap the critter and I thought maybe it was someones pet that escaped.  If it is a natural occurring weasel the Pine Martin is definitely a more likely species that one might encounter.  The Mink is semi-aquatic and has different behaviors and ranges than the Pine Martin.  The range of the Pine Martins and their behavior and diet would be more suitable to the San Gabriels than the Mink.  If the critter is trapped or photographed I'll post a picture     

[ralberts630]

I saw a Pine Marten one night a few months ago near the corner of Lone Pine and East Canyon.

[cedar]

My neighbors have been trying to trap the critter and I thought maybe it was someones pet that escaped.  If it is a natural occurring weasel the Pine Martin is definitely a more likely species that one might encounter.    If the critter is trapped or photographed I'll post a picture     

Please do not trap the mink / martin!  There are motion activated cameras that could let you know what it is without traumatizing / damaging it.  It would be great to have Martins as part of the Wrightwood wildlife.

[Tall Trees]

My neighbors told me the trap did not work and was ineffective and they basically gave up trying to capture it.  It appears the weasel has a den under a nearby storage shed and has been seen often in the mornings.  If someone has one of those game cameras I would love to set it up for a week or two and see if we get a picture of the critter.

[Jim Wilkins]

I remember when Wrightwood got a picture of a Ringtail Cat on his porch. 

[Tall Trees]

My friends are certain that they have seen a brown Mink around lately and today I asked them if it could have been a Pine Martin or Ring Tailed Cat.  My friend quickly pulled out his iPhone and looked up the other species on Google and was very certain that it was the Mink.  He even mentioned to me that he saw the Mink on his way to work today and the critter ran under my front poach.  When I got home from work I looked in the snow and found these animal tracks that appear to be Mink.  I compared the tracks to the Pine Martin and Gray Squirrel and they match closest to a Mink.

[SkierBob]

I wouldnt introduce any non native species but i would enjoy the hunting.

Afaik there are not many pigs in cleveland nf public land. If so, give me some coordinates and let me know how much bacon you want.

hey Jeremy have you ever tried cooking bacon this way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UW5AkWqOY&feature=player_embedded

[Tall Trees]

I wont mention any names but, Jeremy sent me a pm last week and we talked on the phone and he was going to loan me a trail Cam.  He did not follow through on his offer and did not call me back, I guess he must have been busy?  My friend Skitter from Big Pines loaned me one of his trail cams last week and so far I photographed a Ground Squirrel and a cat.  No sign of the mink yet.  I will post a picture of the cat in case someone recognizes it.

[Tall Trees]

The trail cam captured several pictures of the Mink yesterday.  It is dark brown and appears to be female from its size.  The trail Cam had pictures of the mink perched on a boulder sunning itself, coming out of the burrow under the shed and runing around the yard at different times.  I repositioned the Trail Cam to try and get a closer picture. 

[Jeremy]

Nice pic.

Ears appear larger and more pointed and the nose more blunt than the pics of minks I have seen

Maybe a melanistic fox squirrel?

The tail is a bit different though

[Tall Trees]

The tail was early 9 inches and it was brown.  The exterior panels on the shed are 12 inches wide.

[Jeremy]

And as far as the snow tracks, those look more like squirrel than mink to me.

Squirrel


Mink

[Joe Schmoe]

Pretty sure that's a mangy squirrel.  The proportions are wrong for a weasel - each body segment is too short.  Is that photo the best resolution you have?

Here's an enhanced version.