Identifying Mink tracks / scat

Tracks are captured in perfect detail on rafts and mink tracks are easily recognised (see below). A field guide on animal tracks will help you distinguish other species if you are in doubt. We have also compiled a photographic guide to mink and other tracks that you may find helpful. The tracks most similar to mink are those of polecats, and at present we can offer no reliable rule to distinguish the two species from their tracks. Polecats do visit rafts, but not frequently.

Tracks of other species, for instance water voles and water shrews, may also be of interest. Note that water vole tracks are often impossible to distinguish from those of brown rats. Only where droppings are also present can you be completely sure which of the two species was involved. Water voles often use the rafts as latrines, leaving droppings on the raft base, tunnel and tracking cartridge.