Here are some pictures of a mink slide from last Sunday in that wet snow behind Sue's house in Harvard. The slides were about 3" wide, and sometimes there were footprints where the mink had pushed itself along. It even made of point of moving over to a small rise in order to slide down it. It ran, slid, ran, slid -- looked like a lot of fun!
Great photos, Sue. Love the changing gait and playful sliding. Clearly, all of this suggests the wild abandon of a young male celebrating his first breeding season. While his tracks indicate excitement, there is a deliberateness about them, consistent with a certain self confidence, or even inner peace, that undoubtedly proves he was the largest of his litter last spring.
ReplyDeleteYet he is not particularly large -- most probably his mother was young and inexperienced, and barely managed to provide for her constantly hungry offspring last summer. Alas, given the slow start, he may never achieve his full potential.
Putting all of this together, I would estimate a date of conception of March 15, implantation date of April 12, and birth date of May 10, 2009. Give or take a day or so. :-)))
Very nice find and photos, Sue. And, Janet, that was an impressive analysis. I confess that my skills are weak when it comes to determining the presence or absence of inner peace in the mammals whose tracks I see. Perhaps the group should look for a workshop devoted specifically to this topic.
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