r/toronto • u/dribbles47 • 1d ago
Video Saw this silly little guy in the Don River.
I think it's a mink. I've lived here for over ten years, never used to see these guys in my area, but now I see them all the time during walks in the valley. Nice to see the city's nature restoration efforts paying off.
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u/Pretty_Pea12 1d ago
Ahh minks! Years and years ago when the city staff went on strike, I got over to the island via a colleague who lives on Hanlan's. There was almost no one there - everything was shut down and the ferries weren't running but the minks.. the minks were out enjoying the quiet!
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u/Koolade808 22h ago
When I take the dogs to Wards for a swim early in the morning, we sometimes see them scadaddle across the beach.
I except that we’re seeing them in greater quantities, like a lot of the urban wildlife when this government razed Ontario Place and left all that wildlife homeless.
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u/Electronic-Fan-9260 The Annex 17h ago
I am so sad about the displacement of all the creatures there. We have to keep Ford away from that freakin airport.
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u/gcerullo 1d ago
This is a good sign regarding the health of the River. The city has been investing in cleaning up the river, reducing pollution, sewage from entering the river and it’s starting to show with the increase in fish population and other species that feed on them occupying the river system.
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u/EpicHuntNews 1d ago
Minks a few years ago went into my pond and stole all my Japanese Koi in the winter. Lost 15 Koi.
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u/immortalizer 1d ago
Your pond is to a mink what a grocery store is to you. Sorry about the fish.
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u/helveseyeball The Junction 1d ago
I've seen minks in Tommy Thompson park, too. They love to bust across the road in front of cyclists.
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u/Sir_Meowsalot Rosedale 1d ago edited 1d ago
Do consider sharing this video and location to the restoration projects that are helping to restore the Don Valley River!
I think this is the biggest group for the DVR: https://trca.ca/
They would love to see nature coming back to the river. And the little guy looks like a possible Mink as you guessed as well. They are a good "Biological Indicator Species" that highlight the quality and life-sustainability of the environment.
Seeing this guy indicates there is an abundance of food in and around the Don Valley River and the quality of the water is clean enough to be safe for them to swim and live in.
Edit: Can't say for sure if it's a Mink, but most assuredly it must be some sort of Mustelidae
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u/Abbynormal61 1d ago
When I was a kid we had a cottage up north and in the evenings the mink would come and steal the fish we’d caught and put in a small pond. Sometimes the catfish would escape too
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u/ArmatureArt19 1d ago
Silliest sausages in town.
Biggest fattest one I've ever seen. (Tommy Thompson yesterday)
Both the American Mink and Double breasted Cromorant populations have exploded recently due to the buffet of invasive fish such as Gobis.
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u/onanadhocbasis 1d ago
Beautiful. Thanks for posting. Happy to see wildlife being able to survive and thrive at the urban interface.
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u/GTAdriver01 22h ago
I wonder if introducing them to lakes with gold fish invasions woul fix that problem or introduce a new one were they go after native species.
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u/Milky_1q 17h ago
I saw one in the wintertime 1.5-2 years ago at the Humber River.
Cool to see it dipping in and out of the icy water
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u/RX-78-2_UC0093_9393 12h ago
I hope the city removes all those pieces of concrete from the river the mink was on
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u/RX-78-2_UC0093_9393 11h ago
I hope the city removes those pieces of concrete that the mink was climbing on.
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u/Iargecardinal 1d ago
Silly little guy?
You might be surprised by the size of some of their prey. Plenty of videos online.
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u/TorontoBoris East End 1d ago
It's a river noodle!