mink in the bay area

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/01/BAI3191KT2.DTL

 

 

Martinez creek menagerie now has minks

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

 

Saturday, August 1, 2009

 

 

First, there were beavers. Then otters and muskrats.

 

And now - as if the Martinez Public Works Department needed more cute, furry

mammals paddling around Alhambra Creek - there are mink.

 

 

--

Ten months after the city spent $500,000 to shore up the eroding creek bank, a

condition many blamed on the beavers and their obsessive handiwork, a mother

mink and four babies were spotted this week cavorting near the beaver's primary

dam, just north of the Escobar Street bridge in downtown Martinez.

 

The silky, razor-toothed critters have apparently taken up residence in the pond

created by the beavers' dam, along with a variety of other aquatic wildlife.

 

" I was pretty blown away, " said Doug Bell, a wildlife biologist with the East

Bay Regional Park District, who viewed video and still photographs of the

frolicking creatures and confirmed that they are, indeed, mink. " They appear to

be taking advantage of the habitat created by the beavers. Isn't that

fantastic? "

 

Mink are native to the area but are highly unusual. They're more often spotted

in the delta or the Sierra Nevada, but their population could be rising because

of the decreasing popularity of mink coats, Bell said.

 

Maureen Flannery, collections manager for the ornithology and mammalogy

department at the California Academy of Sciences, also confirmed that the

animals in question are Neovison vison, a.k.a. American mink.

 

The babies probably were born in April or May and will stay with their mother

until fall, when they will head out to claim their own territories, she said.

 

" It's definitely a sign the local ecosystem is healthy and doing well, " she

said. " And it's nice people can now view them in the wild. "

 

Meanwhile, the city of Martinez, which at one point wanted to trap and kill the

beavers, is taking a cautious approach to the town's explosion of wildlife.

 

" We'll have to monitor the situation, " said Don Salts, the city's deputy public

works director. " But mink? That's news to me. "

 

Dan Murphy, owner of Bertola's restaurant adjacent to the beavers' dam, was also

taking a wait-and-see attitude. Liability concerns over the restaurant's

weakening foundation were one reason the city decided to shore up the creek bank

last fall.

 

" I don't really care, " Murphy said. " Although I guess the creek's becoming more

and more of a habitat, which is pretty cool. "

 

The mink are a happy addition to Martinez's growing menagerie, said vice mayor

Mike Menesini.

 

" Martinez is a very welcoming city, and obviously we have room for everyone, " he

said. " Although it'll be interesting to see how this mixed community gets

along. "

 

So far, the mink, beavers, muskrats, otters and turtles have adopted an attitude

of mutual indifference. The crayfish aren't so lucky - they're often dinner for

their carnivorous creek-mates.

 

The mink were first observed by Cheryl Reynolds and Heidi Perryman, members of a

group of beaver advocates called Worth a Dam. Reynolds, who formerly ran the

wildlife hospital at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, was spending a quiet moment by

the creek Wednesday evening when she saw " four little squirming things " splash

in front of her.

 

" They make this chirping sound. It was really crazy, " she said. " I knew they

were mink because of the little white patch under their chin. "

 

It's no surprise the mink have moved in with the beavers. The dams slow down the

creek, making it easier for mink to scoop up crayfish, ducklings and other

morsels, including, perhaps, baby beavers.

 

The adult beaver pair that moved into Alhambra Creek in early 2007 had a litter

of four kits in May, but the kits have not been seen in some time, Perryman

said.

 

Still, the natural cycle has been a joy to watch, Reynolds said.

 

" It's amazing to see how much that creek has changed since the beavers moved

in, " she said. " There's always people over there now. It's a great natural

education. "

 

 

Inside

How to tell apart beavers, mink, muskrats and otters. C3

 

 

A dam good time

-- Today is Beaver Fest in downtown Martinez, a celebration of three years of

beavers in Alhambra Creek. The festival will include bagpipe music to celebrate

the return of beavers to Scotland, where they have been nearly extinct for 400

years. There also will be live bluegrass and jazz bands, tours of the beaver

dams and arts projects.

 

-- The festival runs 12:30-6:30 p.m. at Alhambra and Marina Vista avenues.

 

-- For information go to www.martinezbeavers.org.

 

Telling the difference

Beavers: Flat, scaly tail and disproportionately large teeth. Can weigh as much

as 70 pounds.

 

Mink: Long and narrow body, about a third the size of an otter. White spots on

their chins. Strong, musky odor and sharp teeth.

 

Muskrats: Short and stout with rat-like tail.

 

Otters: Narrow body, three to four feet long with a wider face than a mink.

 

Sources: Doug Bell, East Bay Regional Park District; Maureen Flannery,

California Academy of Sciences.

 

E-mail Carolyn Jones at carolynjones.

 

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

 

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